Songs of Innocence, Songs of Wisdom
by Cosmogonika
Summary: Only days after Crait, Rey and Leia embark on a secret mission to find an old ally. While Kylo and Rey are faced with more contradictions and conflicts than clear routes to follow, their cat-and-mouse chase will shape their destinies. Rey follows a quest to understand the origins of their bond that will bring her to unveil ancient Force secrets. How will the future unfold?
1. Emptiness

"Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion,

Reason and Energy, Love and Hate are necessary to Human existence.

From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil.

Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy.

 **\- William Blake,** _ **The Marriage of Heaven and Hell**  
_

* * *

 _Why did you do it?_ Asked a part of his soul to the other…

Kylo Ren contemplated the empty void of the universe, standing in front of a huge bay window in his dark chambers. Stars were twinkling. Others were dying. Supernovas were born.

Snoke had crept and filled his mind ever since he could remember. Since he was a child, he always had echoing voices whispering in his sleep, in his daydreams, and in his nightmares. The empty space before him bore a strange resemblance to his own mind. Silence. He had never felt so at peace – and yet, never had he felt so disturbed.

He kept playing the scene over and over in his head…

 _Why did you do it?_ A part of his soul kept asking, tapping on the doors of his thoughts.

He knew the answer partly, and a repressed memory filled his thoughts.

" _Snoke is using you for your powers" …"He will crush you,"_ echoed his father's voice.

It was his birthright to rule the galaxy. He deserved to be Supreme Leader because it was his _destiny_. He was the true heir of Darth Vader. It was his path to overcome his former Master. He had known then, but hadn't fully accepted it until he heard it voiced clearly before him in his father's words. That's when the sole idea of overthrowing Snoke and fulfilling his true destiny had finally solidified. However, without him fully realizing it, floating soft hazel eyes entered his

mind…

Or… had it been, had it been for… _her?_

His gloved fists clenched at his side. He recalled _everything_ …their conversations through the Force Bond…the way she had _stared_ at him when he appeared shirtless in front of her – oh, so _disturbed_ \- the way they had touched hands…and what he had seen beyond that, laying behind the veil of their own future…Rey as his partner in the Dark Side, glorious and fearless, standing next to him as they both ruled the galaxy…

His fists clenched harder; they were almost shaking. A familiar feeling surged within him. _Wrath._

She had betrayed him. She had abandoned him. Like his mother. Like his father. Like his uncle.

Like _everybody_. They all despised him, the 'Fallen One.' He had dared to think she was _different_. He had offered her the galaxy, the spark of a new order, a life written anew. And for the second time, she had slapped him in the face. After she had looked at him with those insanely intense eyes in the elevator, after she had said she was there, saying she would help him. He had begged her to join him. How _dare_ she humiliate him like this? This… _nobody_ , this… scavenger, the desert rat of that _junkyard_ called Jakku.

It was far worse. She had helped the last of the Resistance to flee, leaving him to cope with his own failure…the failure to convince her, to stop her, and to destroy the last of the disgusting rebels. Hux hadn't failed to scold him, blaming him for everything.

His jaw clenched, anger building dangerously high once again. She was going her _pay_ for this, her and those she dared to call _friends._ Those murderers and traitors...

But his fists loosened up at once. He let out a long sigh, and his features crumbled in defeat. He swallowed heavily as his pained eyes looked up at the universe through the bay window once again. He lifted his gloved hand and rested his long fingers on the cold glass. His body gave in to gravity and he lowered his head, his long dark hair covering his face as his handsome features contorted in a mix of pain, despair, and loneliness.

He couldn't feel her through the Force anymore. He felt cold. Empty. He asked himself if the bond had been broken after Rey had left Crait, after their connection had reopened again – proving that Snoke was not the one who had created it. And then, before he realized, his thought followed another path …

" _Where are you now? Will you ever call my name again?"_

But suddenly, a low grunt and way-too-familiar voice tore through his inner silence, making him jump and shaking him to the core.

"You _pitiful, pathetic_ soul!" growled the voice impatiently. Kylo turned around quickly, his eyes widening in utter _fear._ It _couldn't be_ , he was…

Snoke was standing behind him, gleaming in shades of red light, his whole body encompassed by a strange crimson aura. His features were menacing and distorted by _rage._

A Force Ghost.

 _Impossible! How could this be? Force Ghosts could only stem from the Light side of the Force_ … But Snoke sure seemed real, and he was now walking slowly toward him, his usual golden robes flowing behind him. Kylo found his feet unwillingly taking several steps back. He hit the bay window with a loud thump as he pushed his whole body against it, but there was no escape.

"Look at you, you miserable wannabe heir of Lord Vader," Snoke hissed at him, alarmingly close to his face. "You really thought she was going to take the bait of your ridiculous offer? And you _betrayed_ me for _that_?" he spat at him. "Look at you. Without me, you are _nothing_. A poor soul in an empty shell. _I_ made you what you are. She will never join you in your despicable dreams. She lured you yet again, as do all children of the Light," he all but screamed, pointing a finger at his scar. "But soon, I will have my revenge," he whispered to a quivering Kylo, an insane look in his blue murderous eyes, only to disappear in a cloud of smoke as quickly as he had appeared.

Kylo fell to his feet, gasping for air, his face covered in sweat and his heart racing as if he had run the Kessel Run himself. His whole body shivered in terror. He tried to control his breath. Had this been real? Had he imagined this? Had the ghost of his former Master come back to torment him or was it a ploy of his own fractured soul? He trembled on the ground for what sounded like an eternity, terrified by this vision. He clenched his eyes shut in panic as his whole body and mind screamed helplessly.

" _Rey…!"_

* * *

"Rey, are you alright?" asked a concerned General Leia. Rey blinked. She thought she had just heard her name cried out in the distance, and she was sweating heavily. She looked back at Leia. Was it the hot and humid planet of Akiva, where the remaining members of the Resistance had fled after the Battle of Crait, which drew on her energy so much? Or had it been something else?

"Yeah, I'm alright, it's just…" she looked again haphazardly around her.

"Rey, what's wrong? Your face went blank and you turned white for a moment,"

"It's nothing. I thought I heard something…it was probably an echo coming from the tunnels," Rey explained, not believing a word of what she was saying.

Leia eyed her with a suspicious look on her face, clearly not believing her either; nonetheless, she didn't push it further.

Well, part of it was true. The Resistance was indeed hiding in the gloomy labyrinthine catacombs of the jungle planet of Akiva, and the sounds echoed so strangely in this place. It had been Leia's idea to flee to the Outer Rim, to this deserted planet where not so long ago an old ally, Norra Wexley, had fought the Empire. They were hiding underground, since Myrra, its capital, was too exposed to possible attacks.

Akiva offered very little strategic advantage or interest to the First Order, which was why it was the perfect hideout until the Resistance could gather their forces again. It had borne the spirit of the Resistance in many ways and offered, apart from old Rebellion facilities, an abandoned droid factory in its labyrinths.

Rey had spent the last few days trying to fix some old droids, her scavenger abilities and her knowledge of mechanics earning her applause from everyone in the crew. They had been working hard, trying to restore the place a bit, to give it a new life, to reorganize and prepare to fight, and to send messages to old allies.

Anything not to think of … _him._

It wasn't easy. Each time she encountered Leia's gaze, she was reminded of him. Of his eyes, fierce, ruthless, but also, as she had seen through his cracks in his facade, so _soft_. She remembered the last glimpse she had of him through their bond in the Resistance base, kneeling like a dark, shattered knight…Their connection had not reopened since then. Would it ever?

 _Shake it off! He's never coming back. He tried to destroy all of us; he tried to kill Luke and is partly responsible for his death, after all. You gave him a chance and he didn't take it, the Supreme Fool!_

Rey sighed, a defeated look on her face as she lowered her head.

"I better go back and help the others," she told Leia as she rose to her feet, but Leia grabbed her hand with _that_ look in her eyes, the specific one that reminded her so much of her _son_ ; it was an inquiring look, as if she was reading her mind, as if she knew her better than she knew herself.

"Something has changed in you. I can sense it. Do not forget that I, too, can feel the Force," Leia said, a bit defiantly.

Rey considered her. Of course she knew something was wrong. But that wasn't the point here. She felt an unknown feeling rising through her veins. It made her guts twist in an uneasy fashion: _guilt._

She hadn't told Leia anything about her son. _Kriff_ , she hadn't gotten the courage to face her about anything, not even what had happened with Luke, what she had discovered about Ben's training. That Luke had even contemplated the idea of murdering his own nephew for a brief second. She feared the pain would be too much for Leia, the last straw that would make her collapse. Although elegant, Leia's wrinkles reminded her that she was aging, and that those were the remaining marks of a tormented and torn-apart life. Leia was almost the last member of a broken family. She had lost her son. She had lost her husband. She had lost her brother. She was no one to confide in. Actually, it should have been the other way around. Leia already had too much on her mind to take anything else in.

"General, I fear that there is not much to say." It was a blatant lie, but she had no choice. It was for _her_ , to protect her. But Leia, the everlasting queen of sharp retorts, responded with a soft but resolved voice .

"Cut the 'General' thing. If you ever want an attentive ear, you know where to find it," she offered, before adding with a faint but nonetheless generous smile, "I'm not saying this in a professional way. You know, you could be my own daughter." Rey's heart _sank._

 _Daughter_. The word rattled her so _deeply_. She could have a lost mother. She had waited for her parents for so long, clinging to the hope that everything was a nightmare, that she would wake up, that they would be back one day… only to have a confirmation of her worst fears… by none other than Ben himself.

But something else had made her heart drop. It was Leia they were talking about. Leia. Ben's _mother_. She could have been her daughter, if only she had accepted Ben's open hand and offer. She quickly recalled that she couldn't have anyway, as she now understood that their destinies were meant to be apart and she had been _oh so wrong_ to think she could turn him. He had disappointed her in ways she was ashamed of confessing to herself. The vision of their common future still unsettled her to the bone…as did another most _uncomfortable and intimate_ vision of him she had seen through the Force Bond, but she was _not_ going to think about that now, not in _Leia's_ presence.

She shook her head slightly and took Leia's hands in hers, her eyes glistering. "Thank you. Thank you, Leia." And she quickly ran out of the small conference room.

She left a very pensive Leia behind her, who looked at Rey as she ran through the door. She kept wondering if her son had any influence in Rey's sudden changes. She was certain of only one thing: _something was going on._

Rey ran throughout the long, still poorly lit tunnels of Akiva's catacombs. She didn't want to think about all this. She didn't want to see anyone. She crawled to the surface, climbed up a ladder, and popped out of the earth right into the planet's dense jungle.

The forest was so dense that the Millennium Falcon was completely covered by its huge trees and vegetation that displayed so many shades of green she could only marvel at it. Strange birds chirping and other sounds were constantly resonating through the trees, and sometimes a bush would move, only for her to discover yet another species of animal she had not seen before. Her favorite until now had been a sort of big jungle blue-and-yellow feline that was running through the forest with her cubs. If someone had told her something could be cuter than the Porgs only a few days ago, she would not have believed it. But those cute kitten-cubs with their distinctive yellow marks made her heart fill with a sense of childlike wonder.

She climbed through the entranceway of the Millennium Falcon and went straight to the 'fresher to put some water on her face. She was sweating heavily and had never felt such humidity in all her life. Jakku was _nothing_ compared to t _his_. Jakku's climate was more of a dry heat.

She opened a closet door and retrieved the old Jedi books she had stolen before leaving Ahch-To. She didn't quite know why she had done it, but an inner voice had told her to do it. And if there was one thing she knew, it was to always listen to that voice. If no one could teach her, perhaps she could teach herself.

But the task had proven to be far more complicated than she initially had thought. Even though she was gifted in languages and could understand many idioms, including droids and Wookies, she didn't comprehend a word of anything written on these manuscripts. They were more ancient than anything she had ever encountered. The main problem was that the textbooks clearly used symbols and signs instead of a true 'language.' The books were embossed with beautifully drawn blue and yellow moons, suns, stars and cosmic symbols. She felt she held so many truths in her hands, yet all of them were escaping her.

Her deep sigh betrayed how defeated and empty she felt.

 _It's all a big mess. I'll never figure this out_ , she thought, looking upward as if there was something there apart from the stars, which were starting to twinkle with the curtains of darkness falling onto the horizon.

 _Maybe he would know...?_

" _Ben…?"_


	2. The Message

" _Supreme Leader_ , the message is ready for broadcasting," stated a severe-looking General Hux, who, whenever he used the honorific title, took peculiar enjoyment in adding a blatantly sarcastic tone to it. He was facing Kylo aboard the _Finalizer_ 's bridge, his arms crossed in their usual manner behind his back. "However – _Sir_ \- I strongly advise pursuing our current search –"

"…that has _failed_ yet again to provide us with their location, General," Kylo Ren said contemptuously.

Hux rebelliously added, "We already located them once on D'Qar. You seem to be doubting my word, Supreme Leader. I _will_ find them. Do _not_ doubt either my men or my competence."

"Shall I refresh your memory that _I_ am in command now?" Kylo's dark eyes threw daggers at him.

They had started a duel of staring and glaring at each other which he was not about to lose anytime soon. Very unfortunately, he knew he still needed Hux, as he was the commander of the Army, and Kylo knew all too well that the stormtroopers were loyal to him. Despite the fact he literally _loathed_ the man, Kylo knew Hux was a fine strategist, but he was also a wicked, powerdriven man.

There was something he could relate to in Hux; after all, he himself had murdered his father just like Hux had plotted to assassinate his with the help of Phasma. But Kylo had done it because he had thought this would release him from his internal excruciating pain, even if he had been wrong. Hux, on the contrary, had pursued that goal for power. Hux's merciless ways were something he didn't stand for and had opposed several times, despite his own temper that erupted at times when he could not control it. It gave him no pleasure to use brute force just for the sake of using force..

He knew that if the remains of the Resistance were found by him there would be no survivors. This troubled him much more than he cared to admit. He knew Rey was with them. He couldn't bring himself to just kill her as if she were nothing more than a fly on a wall. He _wanted_ to hate her, yet he found himself incapable of doing so, and he loathed himself even more for it. His heart was torn apart and felt like lead, but he had to make up for appearances. He therefore had settled on a perfectly acceptable excuse in the eyes of the Order.

"General Hux, we _will_ send this message to all systems under our control and broadcast it on local communication channels. And, if you find the remaining Resistance members, remember the girl has to be caught alive so we can give her a proper punishment for the murder of our Supreme Leader. A proper trial and condemnation would send a powerful message to every star system in the galaxy that we _cannot_ and _will not_ be opposed, at the same time showing we are not _just_ some random vengeful murderers," he told Hux, his tone as cold, strict and detached as he could manage. Hux's eyes were twitching with rage, and he barely contained his disagreement with the whole issue. But Kylo gave him _that_ dark look, the one that flatly said that he was just in absolutely no mood for his _Ginger talks_.

He was so exhausted.

Of course he was. It had been one of his most horrid nights. It had taken him long hours to find quiet, his mind ruminating and tormented by past events, before daunting nightmares of Snoke's Force Ghost had assaulted his soul yet again. The former Supreme Leader had been haunting him and punishing him for his betrayal by employing Force Lightning, sending him flying in pain through the air. His body felt like it was being crushed under Snoke's power, and before he realized it, he was free-falling into a dark black void. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Rey standing defiantly at the door of the Millennium Falcon, looking at him with a reproachful gaze filled with contempt. Before he could try to reach her, she closed the door without looking back at him and fled. He had seen Han Solo do the same countless times…

Within seconds, he was a small boy again, with fluffy, uncontrollable, curly black locks looking up at his father with his big watery eyes asking him, "Why are you leaving, Dad?"…only for Han Solo to look down at him, his usual smirk on his face but never answering the question, before sailing off into yet another adventure _without him_ – and it all seemed so vivid and real that he had woken up screaming, drenched in sweat and with tears in his eyes.

"Then so be it," Hux responded decidedly, startling the new Supreme Leader from his ruminations. "Officer, send the message to every system under our control with the order to retransmit it to all local planets. Make sure it gets to the Western Regions and Outer Rim systems' transmissions signals."

* * *

"You have to build a new cycling field energizer in the blade if you want it to work; it's not going to be an easy task," declared Rose, as she analyzed every component of the broken lightsaber.

"And you'll need another focusing crystal, too."

Rey sighed, looking at the broken blade. "You're right. I'll also need a new energy modulation circuit since this one is visibly of no use anymore." They were sitting between tons of mechanicals circuits and components in a dimly lit room with bright desk lights positioned above the saber for better viewing.

After their arrival on Akiva, Rose had fortunately survived her injuries. She still had a bandage on the bridge of her nose, but she actually looked quite cute with it. At first, Rey had been cautious with her about Finn. She had understood the minute she had stepped onto the Falcon that Finn and Rose had become close. She hated herself, but she had thought at that precise moment of how it would have been if Ben had joined her. Of how things could have been between them. She willed the thought out of her mind after they had arrived and focused on other things, more important things.

Finn was the first friend she had ever had. She wanted to be there for him as he had been for her on Starkiller base. _He_ had come back for her. Part of her goal had been to make Rose understand that she was no threat to her relationship with Finn. Once Rose understood that, she and Rose had become closer. They discovered they shared a mutual love for mechanical projects and nerdy talks about droids and engines. Apart from being such a positive person – which she desperately needed these days - Rose was a mechanic's bible and knew so many details, all the things that Rey herself had only learned through practice over years and years of scavenging on Jakku. Rose was now helping her find a way to build the blue lightsaber again. She knew all too well that at one point she would absolutely need to defend herself again using the ways of the Force.

"I had only seen functional plans of lightsabers before; it's such an amazing piece of engineering. Who actually invented these things?" asked an amazed Rose of her new friend, who was lost for an answer.

"Eh, um, you know…" Rey looked lost for words. " _Ugh_ , I think I'm a terrible Jedi student. I have absolutely no idea! The only thing I know is that it works!"

Rose looked at her between bewilderment and awe. She regarded Rey as a relic of an ancient religion she had believed in all her life. The Force. The Jedi. It was all real. Rey was a Jedi. To her, she was even more of a hero than Finn, if that was possible. But hearing Rey's confused answer made them both crack up, and they laughed lightheartedly. It felt so good to laugh. It had been so long – longer than Rey could even remember.

But the laughter was shorter than expected. Poe smashed through the door, making both of them jump in surprise. "Force sake, Poe!" they both exclaimed to the handsome pilot.

"No time for heart attacks, ladies. General Leia sent me to fetch you at once. We have a situation," said an alarmed Poe. Rey and Rose got to their feet and followed him in Akiva's corridors to the principal command room. Poe was always careful to let Rey pass before him, and his attitude and manners toward her unsettled her. She didn't know quite what to think of it. But for now, she would think about it later.

"General, we're here," Poe told Leia, who looked at them with a concerned look on her face.

"We have intercepted a message from the First Order," started Leia at once. "My s-em, Kylo Ren, is now the Supreme Leader." She trailed off, visibly shaken, looking at Rey as if she were looking for answers. "I, I think it's better to just watch the video transmission." She activated the Holopad. Ben - _scratch that_ \- Kylo Ren's full holo face appeared before them - and Rey let out a small gasp at the mere sight of him.

"This is an important message for all Star Systems in the galaxy. Our Supreme Leader Snoke has been killed in a highly orchestrated ambush attack."

Rey's mind raced at those words– an _ambush attack? What-_ -

"I have now ascended to be our Order's Supreme Commander, and I will not be impressed by pitiful Rebellion forces. I will give a large reward for the capture of three live individuals in order to bring them to a trial that will decide of their proper punishment, before the eyes of the entire galaxy. However..." his voice trailed, "should we fail to locate these individuals, more Star

Systems will suffer from our wrath, as did the late Republic." His eyes were cold and threatening. "We are looking for two women and a man," Kylo said as he stepped aside, revealing another holo...

"Her" – a giant holo of Rey's face appeared behind Kylo, who pointed a finger at her, and Rey's heart nearly stopped. It was a holo taken of her face in Snoke's throne room.

"Him" – and Rey's holo shifted to one of Finn, dressed as a First Order officer -

"And finally, her," stated Kylo as the picture changed to Rose, also dressed in First Order uniform. He added, before disappearing with a menacing dark tone, "If you have their location, you _will_ bring them to us. You have been warned."

The whole room felt dead silent. The only sound came from Leia, who fell on a chair beside her with a gasp, sweating, a pained expression in her eyes.

"General, are you – "asked Poe, before Leia cut him off.

"I'm ok, Poe, I'm ok…"

But Rey _knew_. She was clearly not. She had seen her _son_ for the first time in years – her _son_ as _Supreme Leader_ , _kriff_ , her son, menacing to destroy the entire galaxy. It had shaken her to the bone.

Finn was the first one to break the terrible atmosphere. "He's put a bounty on our heads. He's going to destroy other Star Systems if we don't surrender."

But Rey's thoughts were heading in a totally different direction. _Why had Kylo said there was an orchestrated ambush? Why did he want all of them and - alive? That sounded so unlike him -_

Rose's shaken voice made her come back to reality. "What I don't understand is…I mean, Rey, why is your head on these holos? Were you on the Supremacy?" Rey looked up at once. Everyone was watching her. Rose asked because she knew the lightsaber was broken. It didn't take long for her to ask herself exactly _how_ it had been broken.

Rey hadn't told anyone about what had happened, telling herself it was better to keep it a secret. "I- I have no idea. I don't understand any of this." She was a terrible liar, but if they learned that she had tried to turn Ben back to the Light, at best they would think it was a terribly foolish idea – that mass murderer would _never_ redeem himself - and at worst, they would think maybe she was some sort of traitor. All she had wanted was to save them, and she had succeeded. She didn't want them to change their opinion about that anytime soon.

As if on cue, Leia, who was still seated, spoke up. "It doesn't matter how he got it. He may have more political skills than I had previously thought. This is a clever move..." Leia trailed off before settling herself and saying, in a more decided tone, "He may be lying. It may be a plot. Maybe Snoke is still alive and they are using this as an excuse to blackmail the whole galaxy because he couldn't destroy us on Crait, and he is tightening his grip on us. One thing is sure: we desperately need to gather our strength and be more aware and wary than ever, _especially_ you three," she added, eyeing Finn, Rose, and lastly, Rey.

Rey swallowed. Was it her imagination, or did she see in Leia's eyes a flicker of warning that was addressed in a totally different fashion toward her?

Everyone nodded at Leia's statement. After all, they knew she had spent a lifetime battling political crisis, surviving assassination attempts, and fleeing from the clutches of the Empire. She had even survived the destruction of the Resistance's crusader bridge attack, although no one truly understood how she had managed such a miracle. But the truth was, all the remaining Resistance crew relied on her for their own survival. They were the last spark of the Resistance and the last hope for liberty in the galaxy.

After a long pause, Leia stood up. "I have an idea. But I need to find an old friend. And I will need a bodyguard," she said, looking directly at Rey, who understood right away what the general was asking her. She nodded in agreement, trying to hide her inner turmoil. She didn't know which was worse, to see Ben's face once again, or if her friends started to suspect what she had really been doing before her arrival on Crait.

* * *

Meanwhile, aboard the _Finalizer_ , General Hux was behaving particularly strangely, glancing behind him every other minute to check that he wasn't being followed.

The truth was, he was walking toward the Holo database system and was being careful not to raise any suspicion as to where he was heading.

Since childhood, he had followed his sixth sense, which had never failed him in important events, and it was because of this he had attained his current position within the First Order, plotting and making allies where he most needed them. He just _knew_ something was not right the moment he had encountered Ren knocked out in the middle of the dead Praetorian Guards, Snoke's body cut in half, and the girl missing.

How could a _single girl_ have killed the Supreme Leader and taken down eight Praetorian Guards and Ren at the same time, who, he had to admit despite his _hatred_ of the man, was particularly gifted with the Force and displayed such violence in single combat? He had suffered the consequences of that strength more than he would care to admit. When he had seen Ren's message and the holo of the girl, he had made a mental note to investigate as soon as possible.

Arriving at the database system, he unlocked the door using a subordinate's code and then locked the door behind him, turning the lights on. The long, black corridor-like room was different than the other _Finalizer_ 's command chambers, and millions of holos were stored in the computer that reached each side of the high ceiling room. All of the First Order's information was stored here, and they had copies in other locations, just in case the ship was destroyed. Hux sat down on a black leather chair and started his investigation.

After some time, he finally found the throne room holos of the _Supremacy,_ only to find out that it was _missing_ a huge chunk of it. _Someone had tampered with the recordings_. It could only be Ren. _But how? It was impossible._ No one could delete the files because he had personally made sure that all recordings were kept. Information was crucial to the survival of the First Order and its security, and he had designed this with his computer engineers precisely so this would never occur. So the files had to be somewhere, only they had been removed from the Holo databank system on the _Finalizer_. _Damn him. I will find out, if that's the last thing I ever do_ , he said to himself, slamming a fist on the computer. But it only confirmed his suspicion: something had happened in the throne room, and Ren was lying.

* * *

Back on Akiva, Rey was busy preparing to accompany Leia on her mission to find her old friend. She had said he could be crucial in helping to revive the Resistance. She had insisted she go herself and not send someone else, as her presence was absolutely essential to the mission. Rey then knew what was at stake and felt incredibly aware of her responsibility in ensuring her safety.

However, something else was also on her mind…and her thoughts drifted back to the earlier

meeting…

…

…

...

"Rey, I need a word with you." The general had put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from leaving the meeting room as quickly as she could. Rey had tensed immediately, sensing what was to come, but all the same had turned around to face Leia. She was waiting until everyone else had cleared the room and they were left alone.

"Don't think I did that to just let you slip out of here. Am I going to have to give you the talk?

What happened Rey? I need to know. We all do," she had told her with pleading eyes.

Rey had looked at the ground as if she were being scolded like a child. Her eyes were dangerously close to letting tears fall, and she had a lump in her throat that made her voice tremble. "Gener…Leia," she corrected herself, after the former Princess eyed her. "I - I'm so sorry. I can't…it's too…"

She was so scared of telling the truth, of being judged, of being hurt. She closed her eyes, and tears slipped down her face until she felt a warm embrace. She opened her eyes to find herself in Leia's arms, and she hugged her back.

"I know all about loss, my child."

At those words, Rey had broken down in sobs. Everything came down to that. Loss. For the parents she had lost all over again. Losing a future she had so eagerly envisioned. Losing a bond she thought would never come back. Her own failures and dashed hopes. She had felt so lonely all her life, and Ben had filled her heart with the sense that he would be there for her, that he would come back, that she wouldn't be alone in the end. She finally allowed herself to cry bitterly for the loss of everything she had craved.

At that precise moment, her heart had felt like lead, and she had had a strange feeling that her pain didn't belong only to her but also to someone else...and it felt so heavy it hurt in her chest -

"All I ask is that you tell me before we come back to Akiva," Leia had added, and Rey had looked into her eyes. The eyes of a mother. Between sobs, she had agreed. She had known then that she had to find the strength to compose herself so she would not speak the dreaded truth during their trip.

…

…

...

A voice snapped her out of the memory. "Rey, are you ready?" asked a freshly changed Leia, unrecognizable behind the makeup that was meant to disguise her as well as the long grayishmidnight blue scarf that was neatly fashioned to cover her head and half of her face. She looked so perfect, as usual.

"Yes, let's do this," she replied, confident that this time she would not fail in her mission.


	3. Innocence

Rey wasn't sure what bothered her most. Was it the white enameled mask, enhanced by a deep blue stylish pattern over the eyes, which covered her face to hide her identity? Or was it the fact that was without her lightsaber, on a highly dangerous mission with none other than the only surviving leader of the Resistance? Worse, she had an uneasy feeling that she would need one. Not that she didn't know how to defend herself with her staff, but protecting someone else's life was a totally different matter.

She was aboard the Millennium Falcon next to Chewie, who had insisted on being part of the journey. After all, the Falcon was his only true home. The Falcon was the only valuable ship that the Resistance still had at hand since the Akivian remaining ships could never match it in speed and maneuverability. It was part of Leia's plan to rebuild their fleet, she had told Rey, although she hadn't mentioned _who_ exactly the person was that she was looking for. However, her eyes seemed to get unfocused as if in a daydream whenever she mentioned him. It hadn't been lost on Rey that this person was a _man_.

But Rey also had other plans for the trip. She had managed to convince Leia to take a small detour and stop at the Ring of Kafrene, since it was one of the deep space trading outposts where she could find all the components to mend the broken lightsaber. Repairing it and enhancing its features was one of her top priorities. Rose had told her that one could find anything on Kafrene, as its asteroid belt was rich in rare minerals and materials. But the place was packed with dealers, possible spies, and bounty hunters; thus, she needed to think about a way to disguise her identity. The mask was therefore essential to go undercover, although she had a hard time getting used to it.

Chewie growled something that would be unintelligible to half of the galaxy's inhabitants, but Rey picked it up right away: "Here we are. General, please brace yourself, we are coming out of lightspeed," she said as the Falcon suddenly materialized into the star-dotted blackness of space.

They flew into one of the Ring of Kafrene's illuminated ports, and Rey got to her feet. "General, I will go alone with Chewie. It's safer for you to stay here."

"For the millionth time Rey, don't call me General. Please proceed, and _be careful_ \- this place is gloomier and shabbier than I remembered," responded the former princess.

* * *

Back on the _Finalizer_ , General Hux was sitting down in his chambers, overlooking the Stormtrooper Program Report which had just been delivered. His nose crinkled more and more as he was reading it, and his jaw clenched tightly. It was lacking important modifications he had suggested to their new _Supreme Commander._ They had been thoroughly neglected and ignored. He was about to go and confront the fool for deliberately opposing all of his tactical decisions, but a buzz from the command bridge interrupted him -

"Sir, we have an upcoming message from Scarif. They are sending a receipt confirmation to the Supreme Leader, but we have failed to locate him at the moment. Shall we proceed to receive the confirmation code?"

It took Hux a minute to process what the officer was telling him. _A receipt confirmation? For the Supreme Leader? A Code?_

 _There is was. How he had managed to do it? He had sent the holos to Scarif?!_ The Scarif data center had been rebuilt by the Empire after the battle that destroyed the communication transmitter many years ago. This occurred after some rebel scum had stolen the first Death Star plans, and the First Order had seized the planet and used it for its own storage system. By some lucky twist of fate, the information that was being transferred there had routed to him instead of going directly to Kylo Ren.

"I'll be there right away. Do not do anything until I arrive. And do not bother the Supreme Leader with such futile administrative trivia; I will take care of this myself," responded Hux with a jolt, jumping to his feet and running out of his quarters, his heart racing. It was going to be a good day after all.

* * *

"Ok, Chewie, I think I've got most of what I was looking for. Let's get out of this horrible place," declared Rey, her voice slightly muffled from beneath her mask.

They were walking through the massively crowded streets of Kafrene, and Rey was trying to

avoid bumping into anyone, which was proving to be a rather difficult task.

But all of a sudden, a strange, familiar serpentine sound drew her attention, and she stopped dead in the middle of the street. A huge, half-alien, half-robot figure nearly crashed into her and started insulting her in a strange language. But Rey didn't even register the incident. instead, focusing her attention on the sound. Ignoring Chewie's howls, she walked directly to where it came from. A cloaked figure was standing there, and she couldn't see the stranger's face. She approached him. The sound was more and more intense. She recognized it at once; it was the hum of the Force the same sound that had drawn her to the chest back on Takodana, the same sound that had drawn her to the Force Tree on Ahch-To. She tried to decipher what exactly what was underneath the cloak, but the figure spoke to her first. The rough, cold voice instantly froze her bloodstream.

"What are you seeking, young woman?"

"I don't know. It's calling me," Rey replied curtly, trying to prevent her voice from shaking.

"Calling you, you say? Force-sensitive, neh? A rather rare specimen nowadays," said the voice under the cloak. "Come with me; I have what you seek."

Before she knew it, Rey's feet were following the cloaked figure into a narrow and dark alley. The stranger then stopped and took a small wooden box from underneath his cloak, and she could then see his hand - an alien blue hand. She glanced at him and got a glimpse of who was underneath the black robes. It was most surely a Twi'lek and, furthermore, the figure seemingly presented two circular forms on top of his head. Judging by his demeanor, he was up to no good in this forsaken place. "It can be yours. But you will have to pay for it," he told her greedily, presenting the box to her.

Rey took it. Before she even opened it, she knew-It was elegantly resting on a piece of black fabric.

A blue Kyber Crystal.

It was glowing and whispering to _her._

She was so fascinated she didn't _think_ \- and her hand lifted her mask up to take a better look at it -

"You!" cried the stranger in surprise. Thanks to years of survival instincts developed on Jakku, Rey reacted instantly before he had time to stun her with a device he had quickly taken out of his cloak. She bared her teeth and disarmed him with the Force, taking her own blaster out, ready to kill, but she missed. He dodged the blow and rolled onto the floor, making several turns at once and retrieving a blaster from his robes.

Clenching to the box, Rey ran for her life out of the alley as green shots narrowly missed her by inches. Before she knew it, Chewie, who had witnessed everything, was in front of her, taking aim at the stranger.

"Chewie _don't_ \- run, run!" she yelled at him, while they both dashed into the crowded street, bumping, pushing and ducking their way through the merchants, dealers, and creatures back to the Falcon.

The cloaked figure didn't try to chase them. Instead, he retrieved a communication device which looked strangely like a lollipop and spat, "The girl the First Order is looking for - she is heading with a Wookie toward the spaceport. Stop them!"

On the other end of the galaxy, Kylo Ren came to a dead stop. He was in the middle of intense training, the red glow of his lightsaber crackling next to him. Sweat was dripping down his black sleeveless shirt, muscular arms, and whole face. He had given the order that no one should bother him and had been training for six hours straight, trying to push himself to his limit, anything not to think of … _her_.

But then, he heard it, the sound. The Force opened their connection at once Rey was in danger.

He quickly turned around, and there she was, running in the distance - but she didn't see him. She was facing someone, something - he didn't quite know-

"Stop these two!" "Mark that ship!" yelled stormtrooper voices out of nowhere.

"Chewie, get in, I'll stop them!" Rey shrieked as she aimed her blaster. One trooper was about to shoot right at her -

Acting on pure instinct, Kylo lifted his arm toward her enemy and yelled.

" _Stop him!"_ Ben's voice echoed in Rey's mind -

She didn't _think_ \- she didn't know why, she just raised her other hand as she had seen him do to her on Takodana, the first time she had ever met him -

 _She froze the trooper -_

She didn't have time to process it; she turned around toward the Falcon, and then her eyes went directly to _his_ \- he was standing there, a flabbergasted expression on his features, with his unforgettable flaming lightsaber, his arm still lifted and pointed at her. But she didn't have time to chat; she just dashed into the ship. However, she _did_ have time to register the fact that his arms were bare _again_ -

"Chewie, punch it!" she shouted. She heard a loud thumping sound of something hitting the rising ship before it had time to take flight.

Kylo only had time to watch her disappearing form within the doorway - and she was gone.

He fell to his knees, switching his lightsaber off as air came back to his lungs - when had he stopped breathing? He looked haphazardly around him. His heart was racing.

 _Rey…What happened?_

"Rey, what happened?" "Chewie, hit lightspeed as fast as you can to Riosa" shrieked Leia inconsistently, as she ran toward Rey who had discarded her mask and was leaning against the Falcon's wall, her gaze totally lost. She was completely out of breath and searching for air.

"Sit down" commanded Leia, as she took the young woman's shoulders and lead showed her toward the chessboard seat. "Here, have some water" Rey took the glass that was presented to her and drank it down in a gulp.

" _Ben…_ " Rey whispered, closing her eyes.

The bond. It had re-opened for a brief moment. She had heard his voice in her own head. She used _his_ technique. Kriff, _she even saw him_ for a few brief secondsv- his dark eyes shooting right back at her, and that gaze was enough to make her heart pump harder than ever. The bond was back.

"Ben? _Force sake_ Rey, what are you _talking_ about?" Leia frowned, standing over her and not understanding anything of what was happening.

Rey breathed heavily for a few seconds and then looked up at her. "Leia, I, I have something to tell you…"

"My son…" Leia's voice broke off as she closed her eyes. She couldn't voice anything out from mere _shock_ \- Luke, Snoke, the Bond, everything… it was too much to process. Her head was going to explode.

"My son…" she opened them again, her head rising to meet Rey's gaze "Offered his hand to you…?" she slowly managed to ask as if she needed _confirmation_ of what she had just heard and her mouth was still half-opened in awe.

"I…I don't know if you could phrase it _that_ way…" Rey replied at once, mortified. She felt her cheeks redden by the minute and soon, the ardor was so intense she knew she had turned scarlet. She looked down and starting fumbling with her hands.

"Rey, offering someone, with a hand stretched out, to rule the galaxy together looks dangerously close to a marriage proposal to me" she retorted quickly. " _Kriff_ , I wished Han would have done _that_ " she chuckled out genuinely, obviously remembering how that part of their relationship had gone between them.

Rey's lips curled up slightly at that, but she didn't dare to look back at her, vivid with her logic. She had pointedly refused to consider it that way - she wasn't ready for the consequences of what all this meant.

"I couldn't accept it, Leia, I can't follow him on that path - destruction, violence, ruling the galaxy with an iron fist. I want to build, to create. To construct in the Light."

But, yes, she had hesitated. It was not lost on her that Ben had _begged_ her, and his pleading eyes had tormented her ever since. She was mad at him at first - or was she mad at herself? - but that feeling ebbed as the days past.

"And Luke…" Leia's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "I didn't know. Luke never told me. How could I ever make amends to Ben for sending him to his uncle, after _this_?" she was talking more to herself about than anything else.

"Luke had an instant of hesitation, he got scared…and he felt so ashamed it drove him into exile. This is why he was on Ahch-To." Rey recalled the memory of the Jedi Master, and how Ben had shown him his version of it, the terror he had felt, the betrayal, and how Snoke's decades' long brainwashing unleashed his dark powers free at last.

"We all failed him. Han, Luke, Me. His _mother_. How could I ever forgive myself?" Leia whispered, clenching her eyes, despair flowing through her torn-apart features. "I've lost him forever," she said as she put her hands over her face. Rey came closer to her and laid an arm on her back, embracing her, while her other one took Leia's hand off her face, revealing tears dropping down her cheek. Rey's heart sank - she had never seen her cry and was on the verge of crying herself.

"Don't...please...Leia, I saw him, just now, as solid as I see you. I have no idea why, but he helped me escape the Stormtroopers" Rey said, trying to comfort her.

The Princess looked straight up at her, a small glimpse of hope illuminating her face. "What? Now? Through the Force bond?

"Yes. I can't explain, really... But I used one of his techniques - em, well, I can't quite figure if it was me or him, actually…but why would he help me giving the present circumstances?" Rey's voice trailed off… "Deep down… I, I think there is still hope for him…But no one can save him, he can only save himself."

"But _you_ can show him the way, Rey. He killed Snoke. He chose _you_ over his master-" insisted Leia, but Rey cut her off, decidedly "- Leia, I failed miserably to turn him - I won't make the same mistake again."

To that, Leia looked down again and they both fell silent for long moments, their hands intertwined, before Leia rose and glanced back at the young Jedi apprentice, her eyes filled with a mix of pain and resignation.

"Of course, you have to follow your heart. But remember: Love will always be the answer. It is, unfortunately, something I understood too late in my own life…" She glanced at the Falcon's cockpit "Meanwhile, we have a mission to complete." Rey couldn't help admiring her. The Princess was utterly devastated but still thought about how to get the Resistance back on its feet, still thought about others before herself. Rey nodded and they both set course to help Chewie out.

* * *

Meanwhile, it was Hux's day of glory. Not only had he intercepted the code for Kylo Ren's secret holos on Scarif, but an officer had come to him personally to explain that they had located the girl on the Ring of Kafrene and that a tracker had been placed on the ship she was flying - the description matched the freighter they had seen on Crait.

Hux had listened to the information very cautiously, asking at once if the Supreme Leader had been informed of this. Since it appeared that he wasn't, Hux had taken advantage and did not divulge the information until the morning, giving himself time to plot. He strongly disagreed with their Supreme Leader on setting a trial, but more than that, he wanted to corner Kylo Ren like a cat; he wanted to see his reaction. If he flatly refused to kill the girl when the moment presented itself - after all, she was supposed to have killed Snoke - that would be the perfect excuse to overthrow him. The trial was only a stall tactic, he felt, and it was not lost on him that Kylo Ren had reacted strangely.. Something was going on.

He had therefore summoned some of the deadliest bounty hunters known throughout the galaxy for their efficiency. Since he knew the girl was strong with the Force, Hux had taken the precaution of not meeting these murderers on the _Finalizer_ to avoid arising suspicion from his new boss.

He was now in a small shuttle, dispatched only for a quick meeting.

"You will seek this woman on Riosa," he stated, as he showed Rey's holos to the hunters. "She is flying a Corellian YT-1300f light freighter called 'The Millennium Falcon' - a fast ship, equipped with laser cannons. Once you have located her, she has to be killed but only on my strict orders. I cannot emphasize this particular point enough," he said, with a cold, venomous glance. "I warn you: this woman is Force-sensitive and has killed our former Supreme Leader Snoke as well as bested our current one, Kylo Ren, in single combat. She must _not_ be underestimated."

The bounties glanced at each other uncomfortably from under their masks. "Force-sensitive?" asked one of them, who was hidden in grayish-reinforced armor. "Can she wield a lightsaber?"

"I am afraid she does - even if I cannot guarantee this information," replied Hux, as he straightened himself and braced his arms behind him.

"If she does - the reward will have to be at least doubled. Force wielders are the most complex individuals to kill," stated the bounty hunter. There was no bargaining. If Hux refused, there was no deal.

"If you succeed, your price will be met," answered Hux with no hesitation.

* * *

Oblivious of Hux's deadly plans, Rey, Leia, and Chewie had hidden The Millenium Falcon within the forests of Riosa, away from spaceports and possible spies after what had occurred on the Ring of Kafrene.

Leia and Chewie were asleep in their respective bunks. They had decided to go looking for their ally at dawn in order to get some well-deserved rest. But Morpheus had plainly decided not to visit Rey that night.

Storing away the wooden box where she was keeping the Kyber Crystal, Rey decided to go for a quick stroll. It was summer on this part of Riosa, but it wasn't the type of damp, humid heat she had encountered on Akiva which made her so uncomfortable. The air was warm but dry, and Rey only needed to wear a large, white sheer cotton shirt with short sleeves that loosely covered her shoulders. She didn't bother putting anything else on but her boots and exited the ship.

There was a clearing next to the Falcon where the grass was high. The sound of her feet slowly crushing the greenish plants made her skin tingle, and the wind moving through the tree leaves sang in her ears. It carried a fresh scent of wood and earth that filled her nose with its delicate perfume. Walking through the field, she looked up at the two white moons that shone in Riosa's sky and contemplated them for a while. She felt so at peace.

But she was abruptly disturbed by a familiar sound. The Force called and was rippling around her with its characteristic noise…

She _heard_ him before she could even _see_ him.

"I swear, the Force has the _worst_ timing" Kylo's voice echoed behind her and she turned quickly to see him -

And _gasped out_ loudly - covering her mouth with both hands as her feet jolted backward in _shock_ -

He was lying down on what seemed to be some sort of bed - _completely naked,_ and his pale creamy skin was drenched in sweat.

But that wasn't _half_ the problem. The _main one_ was his legs were parted and he was holding his throbbing cock in his right hand, stroking it softly as he looked directly at her.

"What are you _doing_?" Rey cried out innocently from underneath her hands, flushing red with a mortified look on her face.

"Thinking of you," he blatantly confessed.

Rey didn't know she could blush so _furiously_. Because of her own prudishness, she just couldn't _watch_ , and she instantly turned her head to the side, closing her eyes in embarrassment. She had never seen a naked man, let alone one who was _touching himself_. His body was the incarnation of male perfection, and her stomach did flip-flops at his magnificent physique.

"Look at me…" he pleaded, and then, slowly, she dared to glance back at him, peering to the side - much more intrigued than she would ever care to admit.

"See, this is what you do to me," he said with blunt honesty, "I don't know what I want to do to you, kill you or bend you over and fuck your brains out," he continued, his hand stroking his cock a bit faster, his cheeks reddening with desire and his lusty eyes never leaving hers.

Rey just _stared_ at him. She was at a loss for words, one hand still over her mouth and another arm embracing her body, trying to keep herself from shivering. Seeing him like this, listening to what he _wanted to do to her,_ his powerful, muscular frame gleaming with sweat, his dark eyes _devouring her_ awoke something unknown within her, and all of a sudden she felt an unfamiliar warmth between her legs.

"You're wet down there, aren't you? I can feel it." He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and his hips made a slight movement, thrusting upward, his hand grasping his manhood faster - and it was enough to turn Rey on even more.

"Look at you… those creamy shoulders, those pert breasts," he continued, eyeing her through her _way too transparent_ white shirt. "I want to lick you all over and spread those long legs of yours, slide my cock into you, and give you pleasure until you scream my name," he said shamelessly, while panting and rubbing the tip of his cock.

It was impossible for her to tear her eyes off him, his rough maleness was utterly intoxicating.

"I know you want this," he murmured to her, and she felt her core getting wetter by the minute.

"Say it…say it," his low voice insisted, his hand stroking his cock faster now, his eyes betraying his ardent, _burning_ desire. She could _feel_ he was about to come apart.

Rey couldn't help it; she let out a whimper and bit her lower lip, hugging herself and crossing her legs in a desperate attempt to control the ache between her thighs.

As if answering her body language, he moaned softly, and she felt an urge of pleasure so intense she knew it didn't belong to her. His eyes shut tight, and he rolled his head upward, letting out a low, raw growl while he jerked off, threads of white cum covering his chest.

And then he disappeared.

Rey was left alone, hot and bothered, her whole body aching for him. She tentatively touched herself between her legs, and her fingers only found dampness. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She stayed there for a very long time, trying to calm down, her core still wet with the memory of his lusty eyes, his contorted, reddened face during his orgasm, not knowing what to think about anything that had just occurred between them.

One thing was sure. Had she doubted it before, now there was no possible denial.

She was dangerously attracted to him.


	4. Old Friends

Kylo opened his eyes and cracked his neck. His whole body was feeling cranky, as if he had the worst hangover ever, but the truth was he hadn't slept so well in weeks, and his whole body was still numb from the previous night. He rose from the bed, threw off the sheets and stood by the edge of it, rubbing his eyes. He was still completely naked.

Then, he remembered.

The Force had connected them again, and this time, there had been no possibility of hiding. He had been caught _in fraganti_ in the middle of his personal pleasures by none other than the object of his wildest fantasies. But it had been so worth it, so self-satisfying. To provoke her. To see her whimper and shiver with need. He had never felt so aroused in his entire life. He had felt it - her lust growing as she watched him, unable to utter a word, crossing her legs, struggling with her own aching need. What had she done after that? Where was she now?

A protocol droid interrupted him by buzzing at his chamber door. Sensing it was only his personal assistant droid, he opened it with a flick of his hand.

"Sir, I am afraid I must remind you that you are scheduled for a meeting in exactly one hour," said the mechanical voice. Kylo replied while yawning and stretching his arms.

"Right. Bring me something to eat will you?" He was starving.

He went to the bathroom, which boasted a large mirror on a black wall. Kylo gazed at his reflection, all of a sudden oddly self-aware of his own features. Surely he wasn't _that_ bad looking, was he? Although his nose was prominent, his dark eyes and pitch-black hair were rather good looking - although, at the moment, his hair was sticking out in odd spikes after his night's sleep, and he tried to flatten it down at once. He had let it grow only because he had been mocked by his fellow students at Luke's Jedi Temple for years because of his large ears. The memory itself pinched his heart and he grunted. His heavy training only had built his body into a war-machine, and he knew, at last for that part, that it could draw a woman's attention…

Last night she had clearly been attracted to him. At last he had confirmation of his hopes, and he couldn't deny that she had taken up permanent residence in his brain. Him, the Master of the Knights of Ren. The cold, heartless Jedi Killer, pleading with her to join him. How could he?

What was it about her that awakened his dormant carnal needs?

He then focused on his scar, which split his right cheek in two and continued below his neck and torso. He grunted again. After all, she was the one who had scarred him - a daily reminder of his defeat. That night, on Starkiller base, she had shone like the Moon in the night, dreadful and frightening, beautiful and fearless, towering over him as he laid wounded in the snow. There had been something tantalizing about this vision of her - something he had not been able to shake out until now. Him, the heir of Lord Vader, the heir of the Jedi and the Sith, defeated by a nobody.

She had marked him forever as her equal in the Force.

He splashed some water over his face, the coolness of it fully awakening him.

* * *

"Can you see him?" Rey whispered to Leia. They were both lying flat on the ground to avoid detection. Small green bushes loosely covered both of them.

Sticking with Leia the whole day had been an unspeakable torture. She had fought the general's quizzical glances all day, and she had found herself almost choking on her morning breakfast when the princess had asked her how she had slept. Rey had tried to keep to herself the lingering images of Leia's _naked son_ blurting out everything he wanted to do to her. She was all too aware that Leia not only was Force-sensitive, but she could also decipher others' thoughts as if she had been gifted with mind-reading ability. Fear kicked in that she would find out about not only what had occurred between them in the middle of the night, but far worse, her dreams of herself sweating and moaning beneath Ben's heated body, betraying her desires. _By a miracle_ Leia had only blinked and shrugged, changing the focus of the conversation to finding her old ally.

They were above a cliff overlooking a huge crater which was an immense mining field where dozens of workers could be seen extracting precious metals. The main problem seemed to be the stormtroopers stationed in various places on the facility. The First Order had visibly taken a grip on the planet and was carrying away immense quantities of raw material.

Leia eyed the scenery with a pair of laser binoculars, trying to evaluate the situation. Earlier that day, a vital informant had tipped them off that her friend was in charge of this mining company and had gotten into serious problems with the First Order trying to protect his people from the Order's brutal and violent ways. He had even entered into a personal duel with a First Order officer and won, which had earned him even more respect from the Riosians, although he had been severely punished for his offense afterward.

"I'm searching…but I can't see him anywhere," Leia answered in a low voice, before gasping and grasping the binoculars a bit harder. "Oh no, wait, here he is!"

"Really? Where?" replied Rey, trying to see where the binoculars were aiming at.

"Right there." Leia passed her the laser lenses and pointed downward. "He seems to be giving instructions to this droid over there - see, the shiny silver one."

Rey focused the binoculars on the figure, which revealed a tall man - a tall _handsome_ man. He looked to be in his late thirties, and there was something very regal about him. Now she was beginning to understand why Leia always seemed to get lost in her own memories whenever she thought about him.

"That's him?" inquired the younger women with an incredulous tone.

"Sure is," responded the former senator with a smile on her face, sighing.. "He hasn't changed much in all these years. His name is Ransolm Casterfoe." Rey lowered the binoculars to focus as Leia continued. "He used to be part of the Senate with me. Huge connections. Knows half the galaxy - and he's courageous. Exactly what we need in these desperate hours. I half to admit I was worried. He had been sentenced to death here on Riosa after a plot against him in the Senate, but I had assumed he wouldn't let himself be killed without a fight. I see my intuition was right."

"Ok…so, now what?" Rey cut in, aiming the binoculars once again down into the crater. "This place is packed with stormtroopers, so we can't risk just walking in there."

"We'll have to wait until dusk and sneak into the main building," Leia responded. "I have an idea.

We're going to need Chewie."

* * *

His black leather cape billowing behind him, Kylo Ren walked with swift strides down the Finalizer's corridors, decision and seriousness written on his face. He arrived at the meeting room and entered it without hesitation before stopping to consider his audience.

Five men and a woman were seated at a round table, their masks and helmets placed in an orderly fashion next to them. Their military black boots, their black thick clothes with distinctive fighting armors and imposing weapons hanging fromtheir belts commanded respect, ye, they all rose to their feet at Kylo's entrancet.

The six Knights of Ren stared at their leader, his dark eyes scanning each and every one of them.

Jaryn and Jendi Ren, aka "The Heavy" and "The Sniper," were in their late twenties. They were fraternal twins. One was brown-haired and broad-shouldered, the other had ash blond hair and a slim, almost elegant frame. One was impulsive while the other was composed. They used different weapons when fighting, one relying on his brutal strength while the other preferred more sophisticated methods and was the finest sniper of the group.

Sitting next to Jaryn was Aslik Ren, aka "The Armory," whose tactics in battle counted on a multitude of weaponry. His dark robes were filled with secret pockets and deadly weapons. He was a docile and loyal knight as well as a fine strategist.

Across him sat Gadreel Ren, aka "The Slicer," who wore a distinctive black beard. His name fit him because of the huge axe he always carried with him - and there was something terrifying about his dark, obsidian features. Kylo Ren always had a complicated relationship with him since he was disobedient, fierce, and proud.

The last man in the room, Keido Ren, aka "The Monk," was the oldest of the six knights and the wisest, his distinctive Samurai-caped outfit giving him the appearance of a dark cloaked monk. Unlike Kylo Ren's violent outbursts, his strength was reason, and he liked to torture his victims with complicated and sophisticated riddles.

At last, the deadliest and wittiest of them all was Vrieska Ren, aka "The Rogue," a surname befitting her eternal love of freedom, as she often made decisions on her own. The woman wore tight, form-fitting robes and a long coat, although these never betrayed her gender. Enemies would swallow heavily whenever her mask came off - there was a strange, femme-fatale beauty to her. Her dark skin contrasted with her almond-shaped, crystal-blue eyes. Her long hair was pitch black. She wore it gathered as a single bun on top of her head. Vrieska had known Kylo Ren from a young age, back when he went by Ben Solo, and had always thought highly of him. He was, after all, the heir of Darth Vader himself, and she had acknowledged having a soft spot for the man. But since he was too immersed in training and mastering the Dark Side to pay any attention to her, she had abandoned the idea long ago. Jendi, the second of the twins, had secretly loved her and pursued her for years, in vain. She was a free spirit - and a _daunting killer_.

Kylo had earned the title of Master of Ren after defeating all of these fine warriors in single combat. He was by far the most skilled of them all, although the most unstable - and the knights respected and feared him at the same time. This had earned him the right to use a lightsaber, which he quickly constructed. The remaining six preferred less sophisticated but nonetheless deadly weapons.

At last, Kylo broke the solemn moment. "It has been a long time. Let us sit," he stated, as he himself went for the biggest armchair in the room while the others sat back again. Kylo sat ceremoniously and then rested his elbows on the table and clasped his hands under his chin, peering at his knights once again.

"Skywalker is dead," he stated with a stern tone, waiting for their reaction. There was a short silence.

"We all felt it, Master. How?" asked Keido Ren tentatively.

"He created a Force projection. The effort cost him his life," responded Kylo with bitterness in his voice. Luke had made a fool out of him, and he was _not_ going to go into those painful details now. Had he been more composed and less enraged by Rey's betrayal, he would have understood what was happening from the beginning, since Luke had not left any marks on the ground and his appearance was the same as the one he recalled from years ago.

"What we left unfinished the night we burned down his Temple has now come to a close. Now that Skywalker is gone, there will be no limit to our reign. It is my wish to appoint all of you as a special council of the First Order - a much-needed Force-sensitive entity, to ponder military decisions within the Order." All the knights peeped at each other, acknowledging Kylo's decision before their Master continued.

"I have a mission for you. I am seeking a Force-sensitive girl, the one that killed Supreme Leader

Snoke. I believe she can be turned to be our ally - a powerful one."

Vrieska's gaze flicked up at Kylo, a crestfallen expression appearing just for an instant before she quickly composed herself. The gesture was so subtle it was lost on all of them.

"A _girl_ killed…?"-

\- but before Gadreel Ren could finish his inquiry, the door burst open and a triumphant General Hux interrupted the meeting. All the knights eyed him with a scorn and contempt, wondering how this insignificant _fly_ could just interrupt their Master's meeting. Hux, petulant as ever, only straightened his spine, pointedly deciding not to be impressed by this despicable army with their ancient religion beliefs.

" _Supreme Leader,_ " Hux addressed only Kylo, who was peering at him behind his clasped hands, a small smirk on his face, mostly amused by the battle of egos that had just taken place between him and his knights - " _We have them_."

 _That_ erased the grin from his face.

* * *

"Ok, Chewie, just pretend and _please_ do give your best prisoner's face. Boy, this brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Leia mused and sighed to a very annoyed Wookie, who was _supposedly_ handcuffed, as she walked beside him and Rey. The general wore a military green outfit with a helmet that modulated her voice. Rey, at her side, was holding Chewie by a rope. The young woman wore her white and blue mask, and she had covered her hair with a blue and black turban.

In this attire, she was unrecognizable to anyone.

The three of them walked into the mining factory at dusk, and Riosa's two moons soon arose in the sky. Most of the facility was quiet, since most workers had all gone back to their respective homes, and the few that watched them as they went by were in no mood to get into trouble.

Their plan seemed to be working up until now. Of course, nobody was questioning what seemed to be two bounty hunters who had captured a Wookie, probably to sell it to the mining company. Little did they know that no slaves were allowed in this particular place by order of its director, but no one was going to take the chance to just walk up to them and comment on this insignificant detail.

They entered the main building, which was gray, old, rusted, and covered in dust and sand.

A stormtrooper - a reminder of the First Order's perpetual presence - was guarding the entrance and took a step back at the sight of them. "Where are you going…with _this thing_?" he said, pointing his finger at Chewie. Rey immediately approached him and used the old Jedi mind trick.

"We are taking this Wookie to Sir Casterfoe as a gift. You will let us pass and forget about this," she said with a firm and convincing tone.

The stormtrooper straightened. "You are taking this Wookie to Sir Casterfoe as a gift. I am letting you pass and I am forgetting about this."

"Which floor is Sir Casterfoe on?" inquired Rey.

"Sir Casterfoe is on the 5th floor, to the right," said the very obedient trooper.

Chewie and Leia marveled at Rey, and the three companions proceeded to the elevator.

"It's working," said Rey to them from underneath her mask. "For now," responded Leia. "Be on your guard and keep your eyes open."

On the fifth floor they turned right and encountered an old-fashioned wooden door that was most probably the one they were looking for.

Leia knocked on it.

"Come in," said a tired voice from behind the door, which she recognized immediately.

She entered first, followed by Rey and Chewie, who had to bend in order to pass through. A blond, short-haired man with a sinewy but well-built figure with piercing blue eyes was seated behind a desk, eyeing them with surprise and disbelief. He looked at Chewie from top to bottom, then his eyes went to Leia and finally to Rey.

"Who are…what are you doing here with this Wookie? he asked, not understanding their presence in his office.

"Are you alone?" inquired Leia, her voice distorted by the modulator.

"I beg your pardon? Do you see anyone else in the room?" he cut in sharply. From his quick and witty reply, Rey understood immediately that the man _had_ to be a politician. It reminded her so much of Leia.

At that - and Rey recalled, way too much like her _son_ \- Leia took her mask into her hands, unlatched it and took it off, revealing her face -

\- and Casterfoe's jaw dropped to the _floor_. His charming blue eyes widened.

" _Leia…!_ " he all but whispered.

"Old friend," said the former senator, her lips curving into a wide smile, and opening her arms to him as Casterfoe ran to her and pulled her into a warm embrace. "My _dear_ old friend, how happy I am to find you alive. Last time I saw you I thought it was the last," said Leia, hugging him back and then disentangling herself from him.

Ransolm straightened and his face darkened a bit, remembering why she was saying this. "Yes. It's a long story, for another day. Leia, in the name of the Force, what are you _doing_ here?" he queried, grabbing his former colleague by the shoulders and almost shaking her. "I've heard, I mean…the Resistance, the First Order…"

"Ransolm" responded the princess with pleading eyes, "I need your help."

* * *

Hux was standing with Kylo on the bridge of the _Finalizer_ again. This time, the six knights of Ren were flanked, arms crossed and full masks on, behind him. The general was briefing Kylo on his findings.

"The Force-sensitive girl was spotted on the Ring of Kafrene with a Wookie," said Hux. Kylo grimaced. The last thing he remembered of his father's best friend was him firing a bowcaster blast that injured his side. Did this mean it was Rey who had been on the _Falcon_ on Crait? He had ordered that junk ship to be destroyed. He shivered at the memory..

"They are now on Riosa," continued Hux, oblivious of Kylo's inner turmoil. "I have ordered six of the best bounty hunters to go to the planet and track their ship. They are ready to kill the girl on my orders," Hux told Kylo while gazing at him intensely since he had planned to analyze every detail of his reaction. He didn't know it yet, but he was about to bitterly regret this decision.

" _What_ did you just say?" Kylo hissed coldly through gritted teeth, his eyes darkening with burning anger.

Hux, who had fully anticipated this type of reaction, stayed fully composed. " _Supreme Leader_ ," he said defiantly, "we cannot lose a chance to kill the girl - she is a menace to -He didn't have time to finish his sentence. The air was leaving his lungs.

Kylo was force-choking him, his face contorted in pure _rage_. Hux feel to his knees, an invisible force strangling him like a rope tied around his neck; he was about to faint, his reddened features disfigured and bursting.

Just seconds before it was too late, Kylo released him and ignited his lightsaber. Hux fell on the floor, gasping for air and trembling. His eyes flicked up at Kylo, who then slowly and menacingly lowered his lightsaber against his neck, the cracking sound of it filling Hux's ears and its red gleam reflecting on his face - and Kylo saw it, at last, passing through the man's eyes: _Fear_.

Without an ounce of pity, he drove the tip of the red blade into Hux perfectly ironed shirt at the bottom of his neck, and the general smelled his own flesh burning and screamed as tears formed in his eyes.

"Hux," Kylo said in an ice-cold, murderous tone, "If you _ever_ disobey my orders again, I will personally make sure you suffer the most _excruciating_ death at my own hand," hissed Kylo, his voice almost shaking. "Am I clear, _General_?" he commanded, emphasizing the title with blazing sarcasm.

"Y, yes…" whispered Hux, his jaw clenching in pain and his eyes full of fear and loathing..

The whole bridge fell into deadly silence. It wasn't lost on any of the Knights of Ren that their leader was overreacting, and the _Finalizer_ 's personnel were terrified.

At last, Kylo turned the lightsaber off. Casting a last scornful look at Hux, he turned around to leave, his jaw clenched and his eyes twitching. The officers stepped aside to let him through, and as he passed between his knights, he ordered without stopping, "I'll meet you tomorrow, same time, same place," and exited the bridge hastily, his black cape flowing behind him.

* * *

"Your son is the First Order's Supreme Leader…the black haired man?" repeated Casterfoe in disbelief to Leia.

The former senator sighed in deep pain. "I'm afraid he is, Ransolm."

Leia had been explaining everything to her old friend, from her son's downfall to ascension as Supreme Commander by killing his former master and torturer. The Resistance's desperate fleeing of Crait. Rey's Jedi training. Luke's death. Of course, to protect Rey, she had avoided everything about her bond with the infamous Kylo Ren.

"Ransolm, I know you have many contacts throughout the galaxy. You are young and brave. I told you the last time we saw each other that you would make a fine warrior in the Resistance. I am getting too old for this."

Ransolm contemplated her offer. He had spent the last years battling the rise of the First Order on

Riosa, and he knew perfectly well that they were tightening their grip on all the planetary systems. He had survived the destruction of the Hosnian system only because he had been exiled to Riosa by the same Republic that had been annihilated.

"Leia, give me until tomorrow to think about it. I do have a trusted and compelling contact on

Canto Bight - an arms dealer who would most probably be willing to sell weapons to the

Resistance."

Listening closely, Rey cut in sharply. "An arms dealer?"

Ransolm's crystal-blue eyes looked up at her, contemplating her young features almost with amusement. "Where do you think weapons come from, my dear?" inquired Ransolm with irony.

Rey cast both Leia and him a startled look, at the same time hating herself for her for always being so naïve, even after she attempted to turn Ben. She never learned her lessons from the past.

Deciding she wasn't eager to push the argument further, she proceeded to walk out of the office, making sure the hallway was empty as she opened the door and peeked out, her senses reaching out to decipher whether she would meet with any undesired encounters. There was no one.

She was lost in her own thoughts and meandering around the corridors when she abruptly felt familiar eyes aimed straight at her, and her eyes flashed up in their direction.

Kylo was standing at the end of the hallway. She didn't move an inch but immediately noticed he had his fists tightened, his gaze showing resolve and alarm at the same time. They stared at each other in silence, both recalling the _last time_ they had seen each other. But before she had time to blush at the memory, and as it seemed to now be a custom between them, he took several long swift steps toward her, her eyes following his, and she soon had to raise her chin in order to follow his stern gaze. _Why did he have to be so tall_?

"Where are you?" Kylo commanded without warning.

She was slightly taken aback - but common sense kicked in at once, and she sounded almost cold.

"As if I would divulge such sensitive information to _you_. You're _still_ my enemy."

"Am I _really_?" he mused, a small, almost sarcastic smirk curling his generous lips.

He was obviously in a mood. His whole body was tense and alert. He hastily closed the distance between them, and his hand rose toward her. _As if he could reach me_ , thought Rey at once.

The problem was he _did_.

He grabbed her - his fingers curling up tightly around her wrist. She couldn't believe it, and her gaze went from his hand to his obsidian eyes.

Rey instinctively tried to retrieve her arm from his grasp but he didn't allow it. Instead, he drew her against him, her own body nearly crushed against his. She was so baffled she was completely speechless.

She looked up at the man towering over her. His eyes were dark, almost feral. "Are you still on Riosa?" he inquired, eyeing her closely, painfully aware that he had never seen such shade of hazel elsewhere in the universe. Rey's mind raced. "How do you know?" she asked, her voice much weaker than she would have wanted "Answer me, _Rey_ ," he ordered her.

She didn't know which of the two - the way he said her name or her own chest heaving against his muscular frame - was what prevented her from voicing anything.. But the conversation escalated quickly anyway. Kylo cut in, seemingly annoyed at her lack of an answer. "Rey, you're in danger. You have to get out of there."

"What? - _Wait_ , how do you know we're here?" she asked, confused as ever.

"There's a tracker on that junk ship you call the Falcon. Bounty hunters are ready to kill you."

" _What_?" she cried out, trying to release herself from his grasp again, her eyes suddenly throwing daggers at him. Kylo held on to her, and she was almost screaming. "What did you _do_? _Why_ are you telling me this? Let me _go_!" She fought to free herself, but he only tightened his grip on her arm, immobilizing her as he drew her nearer. "Listen to me, you fool! Hux wants you dead. He sent those hunters after you."

"Why don't you tell him to stop them, _Supreme Leader_?" she spat at him boldly. The rebuke hurt him to the core, but he didn't move a muscle. "Is that what's happening - your _subordinates_ are given free rein?"

Kylo shook her arm, his anger rising by the minute. "Just, _shut up_ \- and do as I say!" he hissed.

She was so infuriating.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" she asked in a calmer fashion, one eyebrow rising, suspicion coloring her voice.

His stare was so intense it almost burned right into her. She unwittingly swallowed.

" _I_ saved your life - remember? It is _mine_ \- I can do what I _want_ with it." His possessive tone bubbled at the surface of his words. She _wanted_ to protest and say she didn't belong to him, but she fell silent, as she was oddly and ashamedly reminded that he _had_ saved her life. She extended her senses to his Force signature, searching for a lie, but she found none.

"Besides …" Kylo trailed off, his gaze softening as he eyed her lips hungrily.

There was an awkward silence while they stood there. Was it her, Rey wondered, or was the temperature rising dramatically?

" _Ben…_ " Rey found herself whispering, her features relaxing under his heated gaze. His hand was still grasping her wrist and his face was alarmingly close to hers.

"Ben...?" echoed a voice.

Amidst the confusion created by their intimate moment, it took her an instant to realize _she_ hadn't said that - and her heart suddenly _sank_. Both Rey and Kylo's eyes darted to where the voice was coming.

 _Leia._


	5. Moonshine

"Ben…is that you?"

Leia's eyes betrayed a mixture of astonishment and hope. She obviously saw Kylo through the Force Bond, as Luke once had too.

Rey swiftly gazed back at Kylo, and there was no doubt that he could also see her. But it had been so long that he seemed to have a hard time recognizing her. Years of pain, deaths, and war had aged the Alderaan Princess, but it was her voice that really betrayed who she was. Kylo's face was ash-colored and his jaw was locked in an awestruck expression.

Mother and son were facing each other for the first time in many, many years.

In Kylo's eyes, a million emotions passed by like a shooting star, and Rey struggled to sort them out. A panic seemed to wash over his features but also, simmering behind his gaze, intense _pain_. His temples were sprinkled with sweat and his grip had slightly tightened over Rey's wrist as he subtly drew her a bit closer. She was actually so close to him she could almost feel his heartbeat racing, and it crossed her mind that he was using her almost like a shield against an enemy.

Rey's gaze returned to Leia. She had reached out a trembling hand and she was cautiously approaching them, her whole body bent over as if trying to get near a corned animal.

"Ben…it's me."

Kylo, composing himself, immediately took a step back and eyed her with distrust, his grasp still firm on Rey. She was trapped between the two of them. Her eyes didn't stop flickering from one to the other, and she felt completely helpless. She had no other option but to witness this most dreaded reunion.

Seeing his reaction, Leia stopped dead about two or three meters away from them, her eyes never leaving his. Her stare burned right through him. She straightened her body and her arms lowered back to her sides, but her brown eyes appeared miserable, even if, soon enough and despite the intensity of the moment, she seemed to gather herself, resolution evident in her royal features once again.

"Ben. Rey told me everything. I _didn't_ know. I'm _so sorry_ ," she told Kylo softly as she shook her head, her eyebrows arched in an apologetic expression. Her feeble voice was colored with only one emotion: a _mother's despair_. The awful truth had poured out of her soul, and it was clear she couldn't have stopped it even if she had wanted to. Hearing those words, Rey's heart raced and she glanced back at Kylo.

One of his eyebrows had raised in disbelief. His barriers were once again in place.

" _Liar_." His ice-cold accusation resonated in the hall, but as the information sank in his eyes were twitching. Rey could feel his fingers shaking as he held her arm, and she could tell he was waging an internal war. His voice was cold, but his gaze betrayed only _hurt_.

"Luke didn't tell me…I assumed…" she couldn't finish her thought. At Luke's name, Kylo cut in, sneering at her, his hissing voice dangerously close to losing control.

"You didn't know your _own_ brother was a _murderer_?"

"No, I _didn't_ ," retorted Leia firmly and quickly, stressing every word she said, trying to convince him. "He told me he had done something terrible, but he didn't mention what, and then he disappeared. You _need_ to believe me, Ben."

"Oh, and you never tried and find out, did you? You thought I destroyed his Temple just for…the fun of it? Too busy saving the galaxy with your pitiful _Resistance_?" Kylo snapped back, emphasizing the last with blazing cynicism.

Leia swallowed hard. Her voice was filled with _guilt_. "I…I thought it was Snoke. That _he_ had corrupted you. I _never thought Luke would…" She couldn't get herself to finish the sentence._

There was a brief silence as Kylo lowered his head and his long, black hair flowed over his face. His jaw clenched as he bared his teeth. His grip on Rey's wrist tightened hard, and Rey's eyes immediately focused on the tall man above her, but he didn't look at her. His gaze was unfocused, and he seemed lost...lost in the past. His whole body trembled with _rage_.

When he looked up again, his eyes were almost black, immersed in darkness.

"You. All of you… _traitors_ and _murderers_ ". He struggled to control his own angry voice; his fist was clenched so tight it trembled at his side.

"Ben, I _didn't_ betray you. I thought Luke could _help you_ …" That's where Kylo lost it.

He lashed out on her, the last barrier of his already fragile self-control shedding away.

" _Liar_! You just sent me away because you didn't know what to _do_ with me! You were never there! I have _no mother_! I _never_ did! You ditched me with what you called a brother in a corner of the galaxy and washed your hands off of a son you never wanted to know about anymore! You didn't even _try_ and find out what really happened!"

He yelled at her so hard that his chest was heaving; he was out of breath. He tilted his head downward as if he wanted these memories to leave him in peace, and he was holding so tightly onto Rey that he was about to snap her wrist, although she wasn't going to complain. Seeing him yell at his mother froze her on the spot. But she couldn't take her eyes off him. She heard Leia let out a sob, whispering, " _Ben_ …"

That's when Rey realized the insane truth.

It all came down to her. To Leia. To his _mother_. _She_ was the answer for who he was, for all his sufferings. Rey all of a sudden imagined him as a child with his black long curls, so strong with the Force that nobody knew what to do with him and even his own parents were helpless. She didn't know much of Han, nor of Leia, but she picture them fighting over him, trying to find a solution to help him - which only made things worse, and poor little Ben was left feeling guilty and responsible for his parents' constant and repeated arguments. It was all his fault. Over and over again, the guilt would bury him deep in self-loathing, just as she had thought so for so long that she had been abandoned because she hadn't been worthy.

She then imagined him being sent away. Leia thought that Luke, being a Jedi Master, was the only one who could help Ben. She trusted him with her son. She thought it was best for him to train with his uncle, who knew the ways of the Force unlike herself, and, after months of hesitation, sent him alone, far, far away. But he was only a child. She pictured him alone at night, curled up in a bunk on a foreign, dark and cold planet, crying and calling out for his mother. In his version of the story, his mother had abandoned him and never came back for him. Luke couldn't reach him. And then, she envisioned how he could have been turned.

Snoke.

She almost felt like the horrible master had crept into his mind as subtly and slowly as a shadow. Goosebumps formed on her arms as she remembered the horrible, white-faced, half-alien creature, with his cruel eyes and his sinister, maniacal voice. How that voice had filled Ben's lonely mind, offering him a future, telling him he was not alone, that nobody else understood him. That his destiny lay with the Dark Side.

Loneliness.

The feeling she had dealt with all her life. The feeling that brought them together through the Force bond on Ahch-To. Rey's heart suddenly ached for him as she looked at the grown-up version of this child, unloading all his secret pain and despair onto the person that was responsible for all of it in the first place.

At that precise moment her eyes were drawn back to the princess, who was closing the distance between herself and her son, her hand stretched toward him once again. Rey couldn't help thinking that Kylo was so huge compared to her small frame; he could crush her in an instant, but Rey knew he wouldn't. She could feel it through the bond.

Kylo stared at his mother, at a loss for words and utterly discomposed. His eyes told a thousand stories at once. He wanted to reject her, yet he couldn't; he wanted to hate her, yet his heart was bled for her touch. This time, he didn't draw back although Rey could feel his whole body shiver uncontrollably as Leia's hand sought to cup his scarred cheek.

But it only encountered an empty void.

Her hand passed through him as if he were a mere shadow.

Both mother and son gazed at each other in surprise, disappointment and disbelief showing in Leia's expression, and she looked back from Kylo to Rey, at his hand still grasping Rey's wrist for dear life, trying to find answers. What was this? Why was the Force uniting them in this fashion?

She couldn't touch him.

Only Rey could.

Leia's gaze flashed back to Kylo.

"Son, I _love_ you. I _always_ have. I _always_ will… Han always did too." Her voice was firm, her eyes pleading for only one single thing: _forgiveness_.

He didn't know what was worse: the words themselves or the devastating grief in his mother's eyes at the sound of his father's name, knowing all-too-well that _he_ was the cause of it. He stared at her through his watery eyes with a disgraced, devastated expression. His jaw was shaking and the lump in his throat didn't let him speak. His desperation got the best of him, and he let go of Rey's wrist in order to try and reach Leia.

But both Rey and Leia suddenly disappeared.

Kylo was left alone in his darkened chambers back on the _Finalizer_. His whole body crumbled, and he fell to the ground, barely supported by his shaking arms.

Lightyears away from him, Rey and Leia were both just as distressed. The older woman's eyes met those of the younger one. Rey was speechless. Her throat was so tight, she only managed to speak in a muffled cry. "…I'm _so_ sorry…"

Without any warning, Leia sank to the ground. The emotion and intensity of the moment had been so hard on her that her legs had finally given out.

" _Leia!_ " shrieked Rey, as she knelt down. The princess covered her face with her hand, an ugly cry escaping unexpectedly out the normally stoic woman.

Rey's first reaction was to embrace her, and Leia wrapped her own arms around the Jedi apprentice's legs. For the first time since they had met, they cried shamelessly together, as if the strings of destiny commonly united them both.

Rey barely had time to register running footsteps approaching them..

Having heard her scream, Ransolm and Chewie came racing in the hall fearfully, their eyes wide at the sight of both women on the ground.

"What happened?" asked Casterfoe, as he knelt next to them, his eyebrows furrowing. "Is, is she alright?" Chewie howled his concern..

"She's alright," answered Rey as she gulped her own saliva.

"What happened? I heard you scream." Ransolm's blue eyes were searching for answers in the young woman's but found none.

 _What?_ Rey thought to herself, totally puzzled. She asked herself how it was possible that he had heard her but not Kylo, when he had screamed at the top of his lungs at his mother. Surely, the sound of it had reverberated throughout the whole building - or had it? Could it be that non-Forcesensitives could not hear him through the Force bond? But then, why couldn't Leia reach her son like she did, when she could still see him?

She had so many questions, yet no answers.

"There's no time to explain. We need to get out of here, fast!" Rey exclaimed, her eyes wandering back from Leia to Ransolm and Chewie.

Casterfoe looked at her with confusion. "What? Why? Can you tell me what _exactly_ is going on, _Miss Jedi_? He emphasized the last part, sounding quite annoyed with her.

"There are bounty hunters looking for us. Sir, Ransolm… whatever, we have to get out of here!

Chewie, take the General with you."

"Rey…." croaked Leia's voice suddenly, before Chewie could reach her.

"Leia, can you stand?" asked a concerned Casterfoe to his old friend.

Leia sat up and rose slowly.

"Yes, I can…" She sounded unfazed.

While they both helped her up, Rey's mind raced back, recalling Kylo's warning.

 _There's a tracker on that junk ship you call the Falcon. Bounty hunters are ready to kill you._

She didn't know why, but she just _knew_ he hadn't lied. She had to take preventive action. Letting go of Leia's hand, she turned to Chewie urgently.

"Chewie, we have to leave this place." The Wookie howled fiercely, but Rey approached him and took his furry arm to calm him down.

"Listen to me. There is a tracker on the Falcon. You have to find it and remove it so they can't find us." Chewie tilted his head to the side and moaned.

"Yes, that's right, we'll get there, don't worry, just focus on getting that _thing_ off the ship. That is your mission. I'll guide Leia back to the ship. Do you understand me?" Rey looked dead-serious.

The Wookie shook his head again with faint cries of protest but nonetheless obeyed. He turned hesitantly and then, casting a last glance at all of them, finally raced out of the hall with his faithful bowcaster in his furry hands.

* * *

He was sleep-deprived but, after all, he just knew it was going to all be worth it. General Hux arrived at an indecent hour of the Galactic Coordinated Universal Time (GCUT) at night on Scarif and taken all personnel by surprise.

After his encounter with the Supreme Leader, he had not lost one minute. He hadn't pondered the risk he was taking when he had openly challenged Kylo Ren, and he had to admit he hadn't expected such a reaction back on the bridge. He made a mental note not to put his own life in danger again in this manner and to use other strategic means instead. He had underestimated the Supreme Leader's - what could you call them? - _affections_ toward this girl, he thought, a disgusted curl forming on his lips. It was, therefore, his first and foremost important duty to check the holos that Ren had secretly transferred to Scarif.

But Hux had taken precautions. Since it wouldn't have surprised Ren that he'd disappeared after his humiliation, he had jumped into his personal ship with only a pilot and a bodyguard for a crew, making sure the mission was as discreet and secret as possible. He had encrypted the tracking system of the ship - something he had studied profoundly as he was the one who had designed the security tracking system - that way, all records of his destination would be unknown and there would be no suspicion raised.

As for the mission on Riosa, he had taken precautions to keep the connection with the bounty hunters open at any time through his personal communication device. He hadn't given orders to cease the mission - crucial information he had thoughtfully spared Ren, who was misled into thinking the dice were already thrown - and therefore, the hunters were still under orders to find and kill the girl. If everything went accordingly, he would be rid of one enemy with only Kylo left to dispose of, leaving an open route for him to ascend to power.

"General, what a pleasant surprise," stated Commander Alisto, his grayish hair poorly shoved under his military navy-blue cap and his eyes betraying few hours of sleep, as he saluted his arriving superior to the Citadel Tower on Scarif. "You didn't advise of your arrival - I would have"-

"Forget your usual protocols, Commander, I will only be staying here for a very short time," responded the ginger-headed man with a polite but cold smile. He himself was feeling sleepy, and his wound on his neck was hurting despite the medical droids' labor on him; however, a strange feeling that his leadership was finally ending made him uneasy, and he couldn't have slept had he wanted to.

"Commander," continued the General, "Two days ago you received a transmission coming from the _Finalizer_ 's Holo Data Bank, if I am not mistaken," he added, looking his subordinate straight in the eyes.

"Yes, we did General," confirmed Alisto. "I personally sent you the confirmation code." He then hesitated. If the file came directly from the _Finalizer_ , why would Hux want to see them? Surely he knew what those files were about? "Is there anything wrong, Sir?" he then inquired, hesitantly.

"I'm afraid there is, Commander, and I shall personally look at these files since they were sent off by an unauthorized entity," responded Hux, before adding, "Here is the code," making sure there was no hesitation in his answer and no question of his authority as he handled him the encoded information on a datapad.

Alisto grabbed the device and his eyes flicked back up at him. "I understand, Sir, please follow me."

General Hux followed him through the never-ending corridors and elevators of Scarif's Citadel tower.

Finally, Alisto stopped and stood before a heavily guarded door. Entering the encrypted code with his fingerprint - since the battle of Scarif, one could never be too sure - he opened it at once. "Please come in," he stated, inviting him to enter a tunnel-like chamber. "We need to find the file with the remote control - a safety precaution against possible thieves," he remarked, trying to apologize for the complicated procedure.

Hux followed him inside as the man began searching the computer files.

"A rather interesting code-name, Sir," he said, peering at General Hux, slightly amused.

"I beg your pardon?" responded Hux harshly. He was lightyears from being willing to joke about anything at the moment.

Alisto straightened at once, understanding Hux's abrasiveness. "I am very sorry, Sir, I was referring to the name of the transferred file - _Moonshine_ \- a rather peculiar name, if I may, sir."

" _Moonshine_ …?" responded a puzzled Hux with an arching eyebrow - _could it be_ …? He thought to himself, before changing his mind. "Very well," he retorted, his hands crossing behind his back. "Please allow me to see the file - _in private,_ " he added, nodding at Alisto.

He was immediately left alone. Enjoying this newfound privacy, Hux loaded the holo. Soon enough, the triumphant expression that curled his lips soon transformed into a deadly grin.

* * *

Back on Riosa, Rey, Ransolm, and Leia were heading back toward the Falcon, which was now in sight, still hidden in an oak-filled forest. They were currently crossing the high-grass clearing where, no later than last night, she had witnessed Ben confessing his wildest desires to her.

She shook her head. She couldn't think about _this_ now. She had to focus on getting safely off the planet.

But before she could allow herself to do so, a red blaster bolt came out of nowhere, missing her head by inches. All three of them let out a cry of surprise, and their heart thudded wildly.

"Everyone, down!" Rey shrieked at her two companions, pushing the general onto the ground as she ducked into the green grass, taking her blaster out of her tunic.

 _Kriff._ She aimed at where the bolt had come from but found nothing. It took her several seconds to calm her pounding chest.

Silence returned to the clearing. Clouds were passing before Riosa's two moons, and whereas yesterday night she saw everything clearly, tonight it was pitch dark. Even the huge trees had a threatening appearance.

Rey tried to calm herself, concentrating on all living things through the Force, as Luke had once thought her to do – and, at last, she felt them.

They were being watched from the shadows.

 _The bounty hunters._ Rey's mind raced as panic kicked in.

"Who was that?" asked Leia in a murmur after a short silence. She had fully recovered her senses, and concern filled her voice as she peered at Rey through the bushy blades of grass. They could barely see one another.

"Rey," whispered Casterfoe, "Let's crawl back to the ship through these thick weeds. They won't see us."

 _They? How does he know there are more than one?_ Rey's heightened senses could determine the presence of six individuals, even if she couldn't locate all of them with precision, but Ransolm? What had that man gone through in his life?

She didn't have time to give it much thought. Leia and Casterfoe – acting instinctively as if they had trained for this for decades – were already heading toward the Falcon, making the grass move slightly under their feet.

Rey, equipped with her staff on her back and her blaster at hand, followed them closely, letting the Force guide her as she tried to sense the bounty hunters' presence. She was prepared to aim at any moment.

But she couldn't shake it off: she had a bad feeling about this.

They managed to crawl to the edge of the clearing without incident, but they now had to make a bold move to get to the Falcon, and there was no way to be left unseen. They would have to make a quick and desperate run for their lives.

"Ransolm, Leia, you both go; I'll cover for you," Rey said without a moment of hesitation.

"Rey, no! You're too valuable!" Leia curtly replied, but Rey's intense stare silenced her. There was something about it which left the general no choice but to obey the young woman. Casterfoe took her by the arm and gave Rey a nod. She nodded back.

That was when the clouds over Riosa's moons vanished and light unveiled the clearing, making the route toward the Falcon easier than it would ever be.

"This is our chance. Now go!" Rey hurried a reluctant Leia. Nevertheless, she and Ransolm raced out of the green spot as Rey rose to her feet, instantly taking aim all around her with her blaster.

Mayhem followed soon enough. Blaster bolts came out of _everywhere_ at once toward her.

Of course, the bounty hunters, knowing their opponent was strong in the Force, had agreed to attack her as a group and share the reward for it – or, at least, that was the initial plan. Several had already made _other_ plans to kill their fellow temporary allies. With their laser blasters, they could see her in the dark and had identified her for some time already, whereas Rey had only the Force to sense their whereabouts.

But the Force was with her.

Acting on instinct, she raised her free arm and froze many blaster bolts coming at her in mid-air. Then, without knowing really _how_ , with a flick of her hand the bolts raced back from whence they had come, instantly killing two of her opponents.

However, it hadn't been enough.

Another shot went through Rey's other arm, disarming her as she cried out loudly and held her bleeding limb. She managed to turn around. Summoning her weapon to her other hand with the Force, she sprinted toward the Falcon – only to nearly crash into the princess.

She didn't have time to register everything that happened next. It all seemed to pass in slow motion.

All she saw was Leia was dashing toward her and yelling her name with a terrified look of anguish before she jumped right behind Rey, her arms opened wide in a cross-shape. Rey turned around and saw a man who had come out of the woods to take aim right at her back.

His rifle bolt struck right through the princess's torso.

The last thing Rey heard was her own desperate screams echoing inside her head.


	6. Farewell

Rey's scream echoed through the air; the sound of it resonating in the clearing and the woods, startling a flock of birds which croaked away in the moonlit night.

Leia collapsed on the ground just before her.

Rey could sense her life was hanging by a thread.

And then, she felt it. The rising anger in her veins. The powerful, almost desperate _need_ to kill.

The call to the Dark Side.

The bounty hunter responsible for the shot was once again aiming at her from afar. Rey, oblivious of her wounded limb, drew her staff out from behind her back, her teeth bared like a snarling wolf. She dashed toward the man in the armor, avoiding his rifle shots as she ducked to the ground on one hand, freezing the blasts with the other — but this time, she didn't kill him by sending them back, no, she shoved them away with a piercing cry. It was too easy to kill him that way; she wanted to make him _hurt_.

She raced toward him and then, without a warning, jumped into the air — and landed so close that she disarmed him with a kick and hit him on the head with her staff. His mask crumpled under the blow with a loud, metallic noise, and Rey dashed to avoid his fists. Positioning herself behind the hunter, she shoved the staff under his chin and, applying more and more pressure, she slowly strangled him.

" _Who_ hired you to do this?" she hissed at him through gritted teeth, her voice shaking uncontrollably with rage. Hearing no answer from him, she pressed her staff a little more into his neck, until she could hear him choke as he kicked his feet and desperately tried to grab at the staff with his gloved hands.

She needed to know Ben had told her the truth. She needed to know if he was going to be responsible for his own _mother's_ death. Their encounter was too fresh in her mind. Leia's pleading eyes. Him lashing out at her. If it turned out he had lied, she swore to herself she would be done with him, forever.

"Answer me, you piece of scum!" she spat out menacingly, her reddened face contorted with wrath. Her hands shook while she pulled the staff a little more toward her, as if she wanted to send a clear message that her intention was to break his neck if he didn't answer.

"H..hux" choked and groaned the man's feeble voice, spitting saliva.

Hux.

 _Hux wants you dead. He sent out those hunters for you._ That's what he had said. She almost didn't believe him back there, but he hadn't lied.

She felt an inner tension release.

Suddenly, a white light illuminated her face. She looked up swiftly, only to see that the Millenium Falcon was above, its lights almost blinding her. She nonetheless distinguished that the ramp was wide open, and Ransolm was standing there, holding the pillar with one hand.

" _Rey!_ " he yelled at her, reaching with his free hand toward her.

Without an ounce of hesitation, she pulled the staff toward her with a swift move, killing the bounty hunter on the spot. The man crashed on the ground and she ran toward the Falcon, which was hovering above her, and reached out to Ransolm's hand. More blaster bolts came shooting toward them, but this time, they missed their objective and Casterfoe finally grabbed Rey's hand and pulled her onto the ramp, where she nearly fell.

"Chewie, let's go, go!" screamed Casterfoe to the faithful Wookie, as he helped Rey stand up and guided her through the doorway, protecting her with his body as they avoided the last of the bounty hunters' blasts.

Rey leaned on the Falcon's interior walls, she was panting and sweating hard. It took her a few seconds to rein herself in, to recoil from her anger, before she dared to ask. Ransolm and she gazed at each other knowingly.

"Leia?" whispered Rey, glancing around her. She still felt a glimmer of life humming from her through the Force.

"There..." said Ransolm, pointing his finger toward the lounge. Rey proceeded to walk deeper into the Falcon's core, bumping into the walls as she held her own wounded arm, and Ransolm followed her closely.

The princess was laying on the lounge's bunk, where Chewie probably had left her before entering the cockpit to make a desperate escape. Rey's attack on the bounty hunter had given them an opening, since it had focused his attention on her, giving them time to rescue the Princess and start the Falcon's engines to save Rey. They hadn't had time to take proper care of the mortally wounded General.

Sensing her faint breathing, Rey immediately retrieved the oxygen mask from behind the lounge seats and ran toward Leia, whose chest was covered in blood.

Rey swallowed hard, both her brows arching with concern. She grabbed the Princess's head, put the mask on, and Leia started breathing more regularly through it. Rey was trying to think of what to do, her hands lying on Leia's torso. _If only I knew how to heal…I know one can heal with the Force, but I don't know how._ She thought in vain, hating herself.

Rey turned over to Ransolm, who was eyeing the scene. Defeat flowed through his crystal blue eyes. He had just been reunited with his old friend and seeing her in this state tore his noble heart apart.

"We need to get her to a medical bay, to a bacta tank, she's dying…." Rey's voice trailed off as she felt a hand on her arm, and her eyes immediately flickered down, only to see Leia's fingers on her wounded arm, her eyes slightly opened.

Leia made a gesture toward the mask, and Rey understood that she wanted her to take it off. The princess nodded at her, as if she had read her mind. She then proceeded to carefully and slowly take the oxygen mask off.

"Rey…" croaked Leia's feeble voice, and Rey felt like an icy bolt had pierced her heart at the sound of it. She turned her face toward her, and took the cold hand that she had placed on her arm into her two warm ones, stroking them gently and affectionately. Her eyes were filled with tears.

Leia's voice rasped, and she could hardly talk. "Rey…the Force..."

"Leia, you have to save your energy. We can get you out of this," Rey responded, overwhelmed by guilt and desperation. It was all her fault. She felt like the whole universe was going to collapse onto her, and her heart pounded so hard against her chest she felt it was going to burst.

"No…" Leia answered in an oddly calm and resolved fashion, eyeing her with care and then closing her eyes, breathing hard. "This is my time."

Rey swallowed, letting out a sob as she clutched her hand tighter. Tears fell soundlessly onto her cheeks and dropped onto her kneeling legs.

"Rey…listen to me. There is something… something is connecting you and Ben. I saw it, I can feel it. You have to find out what it is…"

At the sound of this revelation, Ransolm flinched behind Rey, but she didn't have time to pay attention to him. Leia raised a trembling hand toward Rey's face, cupping her wet cheek and stroking it softly.

"We all failed him, Rey. Please…you can help him. There is something between you, I know it…" she said with a faint smile, lowering her hand back on the bunk, her eyes piercing and reading right through hers. She gulped hard, and looked down, not knowing how to answer the dying Princess's plea. Of course, there was "something" between her and Ben. How could she deny it? She had caught herself being strangely attracted to the man. But she knew Leia meant something else. Something she had kept wondering herself. Why was the Force connecting them?

Surely, Snoke had been lying. He was not the one who had created the bond. She knew this all too well. She had dreamt of Kylo, dressed all in black with his mask on, way before meeting him. Even before that, she had felt a young man's presence in her dreams on Jakku, when she was so lonely, and had even heard a voice, whispering to her in her daydreams. More recently, she had seen a strange boy in the vision on Takodana, with a hovering figure which curiously resembled Snoke's deathly appearance.

When they first met on Takodana, she sensed that Kylo had felt… _something_. Something he couldn't quite place. He had said so, too. Only, she was too terrified by him to think about anything concrete at that moment. _Had she also appeared in his own dreams?_

But on Starkiller Base, the moment Kylo entered her mind, something had happened. Their minds had _fused_. An energy passed between them. She suddenly knew how to use the Force, as if she had learned from him simply by tapping into his mind. Her Force powers had awoken drastically from that moment on, and she had even been able to defeat the strong Dark Side warrior.

Then there was the Force bond. It had allowed her to see past the monster's deeds to see the man behind the mask. To see him naked — in every meaning of that word. She had thrown her prejudice away and opened to him, and when their hands touched, she truly believed he could be saved, that he would turn. _That he would stand with her_. She felt it again during their fight against Snoke's red guards. The balance. It had shown her what they could achieve together, only to be thoroughly disappointed moments later.

She had woken up in the throne room before him, and jumped to her feet. She was disoriented, almost stumbling over a dead guard, her eyes glazed.

And then she saw him, lying on the ground. For one second she feared he was dead, but then she felt his Force signature and approached him cautiously. His head rested on the obsidian marble ground, bunches of his black hair strewn over his forehead and eyes. She sighed heavily at her own dashed hopes as she considered him and his odd but nevertheless handsome features, although his brows were arched into a painful expression, even when knocked out. She remembered his vision of Luke hesitating to murder him in his sleep, and she couldn't help aching for him. She knelt down and was about to smooth his hair away from his face but then decided against it — realizing at last that she had to flee the ship before it was too late.

She grabbed the broken saber and raced out of the room, casting him one last look as the elevator doors closed before her.

Only then did she realize that it never crossed her mind to harm him or kill him. An inner voice spoke against it, a deeply-rooted intuition that she couldn't really pin down but knew stemmed from the Force itself.

Leia's pained grunt shook her out of her thoughts, and her eyes flashed back to the wounded Princess once again. The Force was leaving her.

"Leia. I swear to you I will do whatever is in my power to help him. Only…I fear it's too late."

"It's not," croaked Leia. "I saw him, the way he looked at you…That's why you had to live,

Rey." She said breathlessly, clenching her teeth. "Trust the Force, it will show you…"

Tears flowed freely as Rey closed her eyelids. She understood now. Leia had sacrificed herself to save her, because she thought _she_ was the only one who could bring her son home. Leia's last heroic gesture had been one of a mother. The mother who thought she had failed her son was now making one last desperate attempt to save him through her own sacrifice.

As if on cue, Chewie, who had flown the ship into lightspeed, stepped into the lounge moving toward them, growling at the sight of Leia, and casting a desperate look at Ransolm and Rey.

Ransolm's face was bathed in tears as he stood right behind Rey, witnessing Leia's last words.

The Princess turned her head slightly and eyed her two old friends, a grin almost forming on her otherwise worrying violet-colored lips.

"I forbid you two to cry over my soul," she told them almost jokingly, and Ransolm let out a sob, while Chewie protested, whining through muffled Wookie cries. They both took a step forward, in a desperate attempt to be closer to her as if it could buy them more time.

"Now, let me rest…" finally breathed out the Alderaanian Princess, rolling her head over again on the bunk, her royal features softly relaxing after enduring such intense suffering. She closed her eyes as she sighed, and her chest moved slightly for a few more instants.

Then, she willingly entrusted herself to the Force.

"Goodbye, my friend," murmured Ransolm, his feeble voice breaking apart.

Rey released the Princess's hand only for her head to collapse onto her chest as she wrapped her arms around to hug her tight. She sobbed over Leia's body until her eyes had no more tears to offer.

* * *

The next two days were the hardest of Rey's entire existence. It made her years on Jakku feel like a distant holiday.

They had come back safe to Akiva's base, thanks to Chewie, who had taken the tracker off the Millennium Falcon just before the bounty hunters' attack.

She couldn't process nor recall what exactly had happened from the minute she stepped out of the Millennium Falcon. Her eyes were reddened, her vocal cords shaking as she tried to voice anything to Poe, Finn, and Rose who had come dashing to welcome them.

It was Ransolm who had done most of the explaining.

They had given Leia a noble funeral and laid the princess out on a bed of colorful and exotic Akivian flowers. All of them knew the late General wouldn't have wanted anyone to shed tears for her. But they were all mourning her in their hearts. Poe seemed most affected, as he had always been Leia's protégé - the sort of son Leia would have dreamed Ben could be: a hot shot, daring pilot, working closely with her. Rey couldn't imagine how Ben might have turned out, had he not been Force-sensitive.

 _How everything could have been_ , she thought bitterly to herself.

Ransolm had had no other choice but to join the fight - and he seemed to be accepting his newfound role despite his primary reluctance. He wanted to honor his old friend's memory and he accepted new leadership responsibilities, along with Poe. Thankfully for Rey, he hadn't divulged anything from her last conversation with Leia — after her death, they had cried together along with Chewie in the Falcon and talked through muffled tears about what Leia had told her, and Rey felt she owed him the truth. After all, he saved her back on Riosa. Ransolm had been quite shocked about the revelation; however, he seemed to understand her reasons for not divulging such sensitive information to their friends. She wanted to keep this a secret - even if she dreaded it would come out sooner or later.

During the short while they had been gone, the Resistance had transformed into a true Rebellion. Strategically, and following Leia's last advice before leaving, Poe and what was left of the crew had started a massive propaganda signal aimed at those who were suffering from the First Order's grasp on the galaxy. Their foothold in new systems had increased alarmingly and Rey had no idea how the new Supreme Leader could have achieved such a thing, knowing how temperamental he was. She knew there had been internal divisions, as Kylo himself had unwillingly told her during their encounter back on Riosa. Someone named Hux had sent those bounty hunters after her, despite Kylo's disapproval. She could just imagine how _that_ had played out between him and his subordinates.

Stories of Luke's last sacrifice and miraculous Force Projection against the First Order's merciless leader were spreading through the galaxy like wildfire. This had been the revival of the lost Jedi Master and his legend. It had been the spark that lit the fire of the rebellion.

Unknown faces joined the Rebellion on Akiva, and with their new ships they were slowly rebuilding a fleet, even if it was nothing compared to its past _grandeur_. Whenever she was introduced to new faces, they would eye her in awe and shake her hands as if she were some kind of goddess; she had never felt so awkward. Snoke's death at the hands of an unknown female Force user provided much needed opportunities, but she absolutely hated Kylo's guts for broadcasting her face to all known star systems and making her look like _she_ was responsible for the deed in the first place. That was so rich of him. She still wondered why he had done it, but she had a fair amount of ideas on the topic. The point was, it made it impossible for her to go anywhere anonymously anymore. _Kriff_ , maybe Ahch-To was the only planet she could actually go to now, since it had no modern technology; it was as if the whole planet had been frozen in time. In any case, she played the game, even with her own friends, since it served the Resistance, and they hadn't asked her any more questions on the matter, for they seemed to have taken it for granted.

She sighed. There was too much to process.

She was so exhausted. And it was just too hot. She had barely slept over the last few days, between the humidity, the heat, and a strange pain in her chest that wouldn't let go despite all her efforts. She decided to skip whatever was to come in the next few hours and retreat to her quarters. She whispered something to Finn, who was standing next to her, welcoming yet another signal from a long lost ally of the resistance on the radar controls, and she disappeared from everyone's sight.

Entering her dimly lit dorm, she grabbed the broken lightsaber she had started to dismantle into several pieces as she laid on her sheets of her bunk. Her wounded arm had been taken care of, even if it was not perfect and still ached faintly. After analyzing the advancement of her work on the blade, she retrieved the Kyber crystal from it and turned it between her fingers, eyeing it through the light.

 _There is something… something is connecting you and Ben._ Leia's words kept reverberating in her mind like an echo.

 _Did he know his mother had died? Had he felt it through the Force ?_ She wondered where he was now, and found herself thinking about her last promise to his mother. To help him. But how?

That was the precise moment when she heard the crystal humming through the Force. It started to shine and twinkled like a star at night, its blue light reflecting on her face.

She glanced around, and then she felt it.

The Force was calling her again, only this time it was different.

It wasn't the Force Bond, nor the strange and terrifying visions she had on Takodana. There was an odd peacefulness to the room and she could hear strange sounds murmuring to her from behind a door that led to a small closet encased within the wall. It reminded her of the time when she had been following Luke on Ahch-To, and the Force tree had whispered at her.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she rose from the bed, making sure to leave the crystal behind her and proceeded toward the door.

She stood there a few seconds, her heart beating a little faster, and opened it.

The closet had disappeared, there was only a black void before her. The voices kept whispering to her. She analyzed the entrance, perplexed.

Then, she heard a cry. A child's cry.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the void and was immediately walking through a dark, black corridor-like room. Her heart was racing now, but she didn't feel scared. The Force was wrapping her in a sweet coat of what seemed to be blackish mist that felt soft on her skin. The ground appeared to be made of the same substance; it wasn't hard, it was gently giving under her weight, almost as if she were walking through some clouds.

There was a bluish light at the end of the hallway where the soft cries came from, and she continued toward it, mesmerized.

She arrived inside a small room bathed in midnight-blue light. In it was a bed, and a child - a boy was on the floor, leaning against his bed base and curled up with his arms wrapped around his knees. He was dressed in a whitish and younger version of Luke's Jedi robes.

 _It couldn't be._

What betrayed his identity was his pitch black feathery locks, and the pale skin contrasting against them.

It was Ben.

Only, she couldn't interact with him and was helplessly witnessing the scene, like a distant memory.

At once, little Ben lifted his chin to rest in on his knees then he hiccupped and coughed. Rey immediately remembered the vision she had on Takodana. He was about the same age. His cheeks were glistening with tears, and he looked so vulnerable.

Without any warning a door opened, and yellow lights almost blinded Ben — and Rey. A much younger version of Luke entered the room, and she was astounded to see that he had had _blond_ hair.

"Ben. Stop crying. Get into your bed and sleep, it's very late," said the Jedi to his Padawan.

Ben's tearful eyes flicked up at him, looking miserable. "Mom…?" he asked with pleading eyes.

"Your mother left, but she'll be back," Luke said in a kinder tone, trying to sound convincing.

Although he didn't seem to believe half of what he was saying.

"Is she mad at me?" Inquired Ben to his uncle.

"No, don't you remember? I will be the one to teach you how to use the power you have inside you, so you can control it better."

Rey immediately inferred that the boy felt guilty about something, and she soon found validation in his next words.

"What did I do wrong? Tell her to come back…please." Ben begged. Luke approached him and knelt down to pat his locks.

"I'm sorry Ben, I can't do that now. She left and will be back soon, when we start training. Go to bed now, it's late." Luke rose, and then walked out of the room, glancing back at him quickly before closing the door.

Rey was the only eyewitness to Ben's reaction. Luke hadn't been cold. But he hadn't been very gentle either, treating Ben more like an apprentice than a nephew.

Ben wrapped his arms around his knees again, curling up even more, burying his head in his lap; he cried his heart out while calling for his mother in between his sobs and saying he loved her. Rey's felt as if a knife had gone right through her heart. He was only a child, and he was in so much pain.

Just as she realized that she was witnessing Ben's first night after being sent away to Luke, she felt the soil give out from under her and she only had time to cry out in shock before falling into an empty void. She was surrounded by the clouds again, and noticed she was flying through a vacuum toward a dark gray-reddish light below her.

Within moments she arrived at the source of the light. She only had time to glance around and register it was some sort of dark, gloomy cell, before she noticed a presence behind her. She turned around, suddenly frightened.

The only sound was her own scream echoing through emptiness. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened in fear as she clapped both hands over her mouth.

Kylo hung in the shape of a cross, his wrists attached by heavy chains that came down from the ceiling, and his whole body was bent over on his knees which were both touching the ground. A crimson-red glow was emanating from his handcuffs and his naked chest was covered in chiseled wounds, as red, thick blood was dripping from everywhere. She couldn't see his face, since his head was loosely hanging forward and his dark, black hair covered his whole face.

 _He looked dead_.

"Ben!" Rey yelled as she rushed toward him, without hesitation, to hold him.

Before she could reach him, an invisible force drew her away and she desperately fought to go back, screaming his name, tears filling her eyes as she was taken away, unable to help him.

As she fell into the black void again she covered her face with her hands and sobbed as she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.

 _What was this? Is Ben dead?_ A thousand questions raced through her mind; dreading the worst and unable to contain her tears before the terrorizing vision, she cried out loud.

As if they had heard her, the dark clouds surrounded and soothed her gently, almost drying her tears off in a quiet breeze as she felt the Light enveloping her in powerful waves, filling her heart with hope once again.

She landed on the ground, right where her journey through the void and visions began. On the other side of the doorway was a blurry version of her room.

She walked toward the door and exited the void, casting a last glance behind her. There was nothing but darkness.

As soon as she entered her room, the void behind her disappeared, to be replaced again by her closet — and before she could register him with her eyes, she felt his Force signature flowing through her veins.

She looked off to the side, and she released the breath she never knew she had held so tight, as she saw the adult version of the small child she had just witnessed through the Force.

 _He was alive._

Alive, but weeping.

He was sitting on a chair, his whole body bent over a table with his head in his arms, between rolls of parchments, fountain and dip pens, and an inkwell. He was dressed in his usual black tunic, but gloveless this time. She could see his chest heaving with pain and tears.

There was only one possible explanation. He had felt it too. And now she understood that the long-lasting searing pain her own chest had not been entirely hers.

The scene reminded her so much of the small boy she had just witnessed, crying for his mother. _Was this why the Force had showed her this? And why did the Force present her the other, horrific vision?_

Those visions still fresh on her mind, she approached him from behind and, without any warning, she wrapped her arms around him, locking her two hands on his chest. He almost jumped in his seat, since in his state he had not felt the bond open. Now feeling her Force signature, his whole body shivered under her touch. Before nestling her nose and cheek against his broad frame, she had time to glimpse some handsome black-inked handwritings, one of parchment displaying a title that read _Moonshine_ , where he had drawn a crescent moon engraved within one of the words' 'o's, and was amazed at the beauty of it. It seemed such an old-fashioned thing to do — and she couldn't help thinking that she knew so little about the man in her arms.

He didn't turn immediately to meet her eyes. Instead he just sighed, almost in relief, his whole body loosening after days of tension and self-loathing.

Not long after the Force vision had broken between him and Leia, he had felt it. His mother's Force signature disappearing in the Force.

The little color which remained after he lashed out at his mother had washed out suddenly. He proceeded to destroy half of the Finalizer's deck until he was left breathless, panting, his fist clenching at his side, and everyone had quickly fled the place utterly terrorized.

It was only the next morning that Hux had triumphantly— and, he noticed, with an oddly renewed fire and loathing in his eyes — announced the news to him: the Resistance's General and Commander, Leia Organa, had been shot, and from the information they could gather, had not survived. Hux added that he would make a full report on the matter to be presented to him.

Kylo had bitten his lips almost making them bleed, partly giving away his inner turmoil but avoiding an outburst - which was already an improvement - and snapped at the ginger headedman that he already knew, and that Hux should rethink and improve his fantastic communication channels, before turning on his heels and exiting the bridge. _That_ surely had shut him up.

He then had proceeded to his quarters and gave orders not to be disturbed. His faithful knights were on a mission, so he knew that was already taken care of. He had retrieved his calligraphy set from a hidden closet that only he knew about, and worked on his secret art, which is what he had always done in times of intense inner torment. It was a balance for his violent tantrums, a way to find peace and company amidst his constant solitude.

He wasn't ready to admit it to himself, but he had been hopeful the bond would open again. Yet, it hadn't — and he was aching and felt so conflicted that it was as if his head was about to burst.

It was the last time he had ever seen her. His mother.

The image of her pleading eyes tormented him to the bone, her feeble maternal voice echoing in his head.

 _Son. I love you. I always have. I always will._

He wanted to believe it. Deep down, he _knew_ it was true. But he had been incapable of verbalizing anything out loud.

At the height of his anguish, unable to contain the flowing hopelessness that filled his soul and spirit, he had finally broken down and sobbed like a child.

Rey hugged him from behind, resting her cheek on his back. It was the first time she had ever embraced him. She couldn't stop focusing on how his rock-hard muscled form felt under her fingers, but what mostly caught her attention was his heart, which was racing as if he had run the Kessel-run. It took Kylo a moment to notice he was still so starved for touch. He wrongly thought he had given the feeling away to the Dark Side a long time ago. How wrong he was.

They stayed like that for several moments, enjoying each other's comforting embrace through the Force. His sobs ebbed, and he turned slowly as Rey straightened herself and took a step back while he proceeded to stand at his full height, forcing Rey to lift her chin upward.

Brown eyes met hazel, and Rey's heart _sank._

His red swollen eyes conveyed the impression that decades of pain had crushed him all at once. His soul seemed split into pieces and his melancholic but nonetheless soft, almost tender gaze pierced right through her skin, suffusing her belly with warmth.

"Ben, come back. It's not too late," she implored in a somewhat muted voice.

He looked down, as if too ashamed to stand her intense gaze. Sensing his embarrassment, she reached out and slowly welcomed his gloveless fingers into hers.

Their connection bloomed open, strong as ever, filling each of them with the other's energy.

They both exhaled slightly. Kylo's eyes darted instantly back to hers, and they stared at each other in silence, knowingly.

"It _is_ too late," was his only response, even if he swallowed hard at the same time.

"Look at you, you have nowhere to go, nowhere to stand. You're alone. You don't have to be," she insisted stubbornly. "I'm here," she then whispered, catching his gaze as he tried to look away.

Kylo contemplated her, pursing his lips as he read her intent in her eyes and through their intertwined fingers. His eyes were glistening with his unshed tears. He shook his head. "I can't be the man you want me to be, Rey. You call me Ben. You look for him everywhere, yet that man no longer exists."

"You _are_ Ben!" she exclaimed, stressing the verb.

"I'm not anymore. You want a part of me that is …half-dead," he confessed, knowing all too well at this point that the Light burned him although he could not extinguish it. He quickly added, "And you don't want the other. You refuse to see the darkness, the part that has always been there, inside you," he said, pointing his chin toward her heart. He was firm, but there was no malice in his voice.

Rey's jaw opened to contradict him, but she only stared at him, dumbfounded. She looked down.

He had struck a sensitive chord, one that she had plainly refused to acknowledge until now.

Then, she remembered. The bounty hunter. The rage, the anger she had felt - the _need_ for revenge. _Bloodlust._

The call to the Dark Side.

That's when Kylo cut in, reading her like an open book. "See. It's there. Inside you. And yet you try and extinguish it just as I fight the Light. Let it in, Rey. _Stay with me._ "

Her eyes looked back up at him, as if she had just realized something dreadfully important. "Ben, why is Force connecting us?"

Kylo blinked. He surely hadn't expected _that_ question.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't have time to answer. All of a sudden the door burst open behind her, making her jump to her feet and breaking their connection as Kylo vanished. Finn was looking at her straight in the eyes, incredulity and suspicion spread across his features. "Rey, who in the hell _are_ you talking to?"

Rey stared at him, her eyes slightly widening. _Kriff._ She had just taken notice that her position in the room could seem utterly ridiculous - she had her hand up in mid-air, her fingers stretched out, and was looking up at the _ceiling._

 _How much had he actually heard?_

Poe came racing behind Finn and was about to open his mouth but sensed the awkward tension rising by the minute between the two friends.

"What is going on here?" he frowned.

"Rey was talking to someone," Finn told Poe swiftly, never taking his eyes off her.

"What? But, there's no one," Poe retorted, arching a brow, taking in the whole room with a swift gaze.

An uncomfortable silence followed and Rey miserably looked at the floor.

"Rey. Tell us the truth," Finn firmly commanded her. He had suspected something, ever since having seen Kylo Ren's image of her on the Supremacy and the revelation that she had killed Snoke. Having been part of the First Order for so many years, he always highly doubted that Rey could have achieved such a thing on her own. Something else was going on - and now, he was about to find out.

Adding to Rey's bad luck, Ransolm stepped in as well. They had all come to find her because they needed her to meet one of the newcomers.

It was then that she knew there was no escape. She was trapped.


End file.
